Play Audiobook Sample
The Double: A Petersburg Poem Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(4.00) - 990 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
First published in 1846, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella The Double is a classic doppelganger and the second major work published by the author. It is the story of Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, a government clerk who believes that a fellow clerk has taken over his identity and is determined to bring about his ruin. Considered the most Gogolesque of Dostoyevsky's works, the novella brilliantly depicts Golyadkin's descent into madness in a way that is hauntingly poetic. The Double illustrates Dostoyevsky's uncanny ability at capturing the complexity of human emotion, especially the darker side of the human psyche.
Download and start listening now!
"I was not a fan of The Double. The plot didn't keep my attention (maybe because the author goes into such great detail about the most meaningless things). If the book just contained this story alone I would have given this book a lower score. But fortunately I also have The Gambler. I don't know about the author's other works, so far all i have read between him was these stories and Crime and Punishment, but the whole story was written in the first person. The fact that it was written this way and that the story itself was so interesting is the reason that I found myself reading every time I had a minute of free time."
— Lex (4 out of 5 stars)
The Double Listener Reviews
-
" Loved The Gambler, but could have done without The Double. "
— Leslie, 2/20/2014 -
" The ultimate in terror - you go to your suffocating, spirit crushing office job and see your exact double - clothes, looks - sitting opposite. Paranoia gone mad. Nabokov called it 'one of the finest books in the Russian literary canon'. "
— Neil, 2/14/2014 -
" Just finished the Double.. I wish I had someone I could talk to to help me understand it better. It was a bit difficult to follow at points, but I did enjoy it. I would read it again with a better understanding. "
— Ben, 2/2/2014 -
" The Gambler is probably one of Dostoevsky's best short novels while The Double is not. It really speaks to the ability of the translators that the reader can definitively see a difference in the quality of the writing of these two stories; one from Dostoevsky's very early years, the other written alongside Crime and Punishment. Both are definitely good stories, but I think the most interesting part of this collection is being able to see the growth of the great novelist over his career. "
— Ryan, 1/19/2014 -
" This was the 100th book I read in 2010, which makes this the first year since I've been keeping records that I've ever gone into treble digits. "
— Stephen, 1/17/2014 -
" I love both of these novellas, though I really adored The Double. I know it's basically a rip-off of Gogol, but...I love Gogol. The Double is hilarious in ways Dostoevsky usually isn't; The Gambler is more "mature". "
— Allison, 1/17/2014 -
" I've only read The Gambler from this collection. It's worth the book in itself. "
— Kevin, 1/11/2014 -
" I only read the Gambler, but it was enough. "
— Rhonda, 1/1/2014 -
" pair this with the metamorphosis from an existential romp. "
— Cdollowi, 12/13/2013 -
" This is a fabulous translation of this much loved book. "
— Janicesmit, 12/9/2013 -
" My go-to guy if I want a really good read, the kind I have to puzzle over for days. This is a two-for-one deal, and they're both fantastic, although The Gambler is the star of this volume. "
— Dorothy, 9/17/2013 -
" 2.5 stars for The Double, 3.5 for The Gambler. "
— Hamish, 7/10/2013 -
" The Double is a classic, and The Gambler is quite the autobiographical story. Don't read these however until you've had some exposure to Dostoevsky. "
— Benjamin, 5/24/2013 -
" I am ashamed to give it only two stars - this probably makes me an uncultured ignoramus - but I would never have made it through this book if I hadn't had to for uni! I'm sure there are hidden depths to it etc etc though...and I enjoyed the comments about different nationalities, it has to be said. "
— Claire, 4/9/2013 -
" Rating is for The Gambler; I have not yet read The Double. However, I am now on a mission to finally read Dostoevsky. "
— Genevieve, 3/6/2013 -
" The writing is of course good, as is the translation. I didn't adore it, though. I hated the dialogue, and I was thoroughly confused by the story. But that was, of course, the point. "
— Ali, 1/18/2013 -
" "It's curious and ridiculous how much the gaze of a prudish and painfully chaste man, touched by love, can sometimes express, and that precisely at a moment when the man would, of course, sooner be glad to fall through the earth than say or express anything with a word or a look." "
— Charlise, 12/10/2012
About Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian novelist, journalist, and short-story writer whose psychological penetration into the darkest recesses of the human heart had a profound and universal influence on the twentieth-century novel. He was born in Moscow, the son of a surgeon. Leaving the study of engineering for literature, he published Poor Folk in 1846. As a member of revolutionary circles in St. Petersburg, he was condemned to death in 1849. A last-minute reprieve sent him to Siberia for hard labor. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1859, he worked as a journalist and completed his masterpiece, Crime and Punishment, as well as other works, including The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov.
About Nick Sullivan
Nick Sullivan has narrated audiobooks for over twenty years and has recorded over four hundred titles. An Audie Award winner, he is also the recipient of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards. His TV and film credits include The Good Wife, The Affair, Bull, Boardwalk Empire, 30 Rock, Our Idiot Brother, and Private Life.