Poor Folk

A delicate friendship and fragile love blossoming in the shadow of poverty... Poor Folk is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s powerful debut novel, marking his entry into the literary world. Told through a heartfelt and moving exchange of letters between Makar Devushkin and Varvara Dobroselova, the story unveils a quiet tragedy unfolding within the lower classes of 19th-century Russia. On one side, an aging and impoverished government clerk; on the other, a young woman struggling to survive. As loneliness, dignity, helplessness, and affection intertwine in their words, Dostoevsky takes his first deep dive into the complexities of the human soul. Set against a backdrop of social inequality, this simple yet profoundly moving tale is an early sign of the major themes Dostoevsky would later master. More than just an epistolary novel, Poor Folk is a universal cry about the human condition.