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Written in the form of a diary, The House of the Dead recounts the story ofAlexander Goryanchikov, a gentleman who is condemned to ten years hardlabour for killing his wife in a fi t of rage. Initially the target of the other inmatesmalice, he gradually settles in and becomes an avid observer of the new worldaround him watching his fellow prisoners being brutally and cruelly punishedby the guards, listening to their past stories of blood and murder and learningthat even convicts are capable of acts of pure generosity, as when they sacrifi cetheir own meal to feed a stray dog that wanders around the camp.Based on Dostoevskys own autobiographical experiences during a four-yearinternment in a prison colony in Siberia, this genre-defying novel is not onlyan unfl inching exposé of the conditions of Russian prisoners during the Tsaristperiod, but also a call to see the human side in criminals and rediscover thevalues of forgiveness and brotherly love.

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Fjodor M. Dostojewski wurde am 11. November 1821 in Moskau geboren und starb am 9. Februar 1881 in St. Petersburg. 1849 wurde er wegen angeblich staatsfeindlicher Aktivität im Petraschewski-Kreis zum Tode verurteilt, dann zu vier Jahren Zwangsarbeit in Sibirien begnadigt. 1859 kehrte er nach St. Petersburg zurück.

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