The House of the Dead

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What to expect

Completed six years after Dostoyevsky’s own term as a convict, The House of the Dead is a semi-autobiographical account of life in a Siberian prison camp, and the physical and mental effects it has on those who are sentenced to inhabit it. Alexandr Petrovitch Goryanchikov, a gentleman of the noble class, has been condemned to ten years of hard labour for murdering his wife. He is little prepared for the cruel conditions and punishing temperatures, and struggles to integrate with the other prisoners, who claw for their sanity. Fettered, hungry and isolated, Alexandr Petrovitch must find faith and hope if he is to make his way out alive, and resurrect himself from the ‘dead house’.

Critics Review

Nicolas Boulton gives a splendid narration of Dostoyevsky’s semi-autobiographical novel based on his exile in Siberia. First published in a journal written from 1860 to 1862, the novel concerns a nobleman, Aleksandr Petrovich Goryanchikov, who is imprisoned for murdering his wife. Goryanchikov encounters and witnesses great acts of brutality by both inmates and the keepers of the prison, as well as great acts of kindness and humanity. This novel displays Dostoyevsky’s insight into the human condition in all of its evil and good, and his skill at depicting this. It also shows his religious views, which are developed more in his later works. Boulton’s British accent works well for the nobleman who recounts his own story, and he’s also remarkably versatile and credible as peasants, foot soldiers and officers. His pacing and expression are perfect. This production grabs one from the beginning and never lets go.

M.T.F., AudioFile

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