"Poor Folk" by Fyodor Dostoevsky: Makar Alexyevitch Dyevushkin is a downtrodden, middle-aged office clerk living a lonely life in a St. Petersburg slum. His only salvation is Varvara Dobroselov, a young woman who lives across the courtyard. The two are distant relations, allowing Makar Alexyevitch to feel responsible for the girl, who has lost both her parents and shares a room with her only friend in the world. Actually, Varvara has more issues than a newsstand, having also tragically lost her first true love and later falling victim to a procuress who permits her to be raped by a wealthy landowner who also just happens to be the real father of her deceased love. Got all that? And keep in mind, this was a good 100 years before Jerry Springer.

Makar Alexyevitch befriends the lass, writing her letters and buying her trinkets of his affection. Taking care of the girl gives meaning to his monotonous, empty existence. His fondness turns to love. But there is the problem of their difference in age. Hey, no big thing, age is a number. Okay, well, Varvara's feelings for Makar Alexyevitch may not be quite as strong as his; she may only see him as a dear friend. Then again, some of the most successful marriages emerge from mere friendship. These two crazy kids could make it after all! Now there's just the pesky problem of neither one have two roubles to rub together. Yeah, they're pretty much doomed. Love may be grand, but money's grander.

Written when he was 23, "Poor Folk" was Dostoevsky's first novel. It's unique on two counts. First, it's told almost entirely through Makar Alexyevitch and Varvara's letters to one another; the only exception being a brief section in which Varvara sends Makar Alexyevitch a portion of her childhood diaries. It's through these letters and journal entries that one is able to piece together Varvara's tragic past. Far too often, authors will remove all need for independent thought, completely destroying the thrill of discovery. Rather than blatantly stating the facts, Dostoevsky rewards the attentive reader.

However, the book's true significance is in its social impact. It was really the first novel to focus on the struggles of the Russian people. Not only are Makar Alexyevitch and Varvara's economic conditions harrowing, but details are shared about their friends and neighbors that only further illustrate the plight of the working class. The day-to-day misery they had to endure is staggering. And they had no choice. Society forced their acceptance.

There are many memorable scenes, including a comically poignant depiction of a grieving father chasing after the funeral procession of his deceased son. Another long-suffering patriarch quietly succumbs to death in what should be his moment of triumph. And Makar Alexyevitch offers an enlightening discourse on how the landowner and humble cobbler both will go to sleep thinking of boots for decidedly different reasons, giving a glimpse of the philosophical works Dostoevsky would compose in future years.

"Poor Folk" heralded the arrival of a brilliant young talent and established Dostoevsky as the heir apparent to Nikolai Gogol in the world of Russian Literature. It should be celebrated not only for its craft and the skill of its author, but also for the attention it gave to an entire class of forgotten, neglected people.

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