num_pages: 184
description: The Double is a remarkable work of doppelgänger literature. As Dostoevsky examines the neurosis and paranoia that cripple a seemingly ordinary man, he produces a thoroughly modern nightmare, brilliantly foreshadowing the works of Kafka and Sartre. Mr. Golyadkin, a minor government official, is a rather middling man. Then one day he meets his “double”—a man with the same name, face, and background. Initially charmed by the coincidence, Golyadkin soon notices a discernable cooling in the reaction of his friends and colleagues, while his double seems to grow in popularity. Unable to escape the relentless presence of “Golyadkin junior,” even the most ordinary activities begin to take on a terrifying significance, until Golyadkin finds himself on the verge of a breakdown. Fyodor Dostoevsky is regarded as one of the greatest prose writers of all time.
language: English
title: The Double
titlecomplete: The Double
characters: Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin
genres: Classics, Philosophy, Short Stories, Psychology, Russia, Novels, Russian Literature, Literature, 19th Century, Fiction
ratings_count: 30285
places: Saint-Pétersbourg
awards: awardedAt: 1388563200000
name: Read Russia Prize
category: Classic Russian Literature for Alejandro Ariel González
publisher: Hesperus Press