Translation by Constance Garnett with an introduction by Anthony Briggs.
Dostoevsky's fascination with mental breakdown and violence (20 murders in his four major novels) was based on his own life, and these two works of undeniably autobiographical nature demonstrate this.
"House of the Dead" is a novel, but based on his four years in a Siberian prison. An educated man of the upper class is condemned to live among criminals and brutal guards, with arbitrary punishments, bad food, dreadful living conditions, hard labor, and many floggings. Somehow he avoids bitterness and blame; faith in humanity survives. With its extensive character sketching, keen sense of detail, and powerful narrative interest, this work can still shock, entertain, and inspire.
In "The Gambler" we see the Russian community in a German spa town. Attracted to the casino, Alexei becomes obsessed with roulette. In a gripping story full of psychological interest, his growing mania overshadows even his interest in Polina, a heroine with a demonic and lively sexuality. Dostoevsky himself was saved from a similar gambling obsession by the young stenographer who recorded this work at his behest and soon married afterward.