>>>You should meet more people <g>. Taste is individual, of course, but to me he is the best writer ever apart from Shakespeare. Dostoyevsky had a mad Russian soul and a vivid writing style that comes through even in translation.
>>>
>>>Hmmm, interesting. You are Russian by birth, aren't you? Is this a case of a prophet being without honor in his own country? Or is it his nationalism you don't like?
>>
>>Sorry for jumping in.
>>
>>I don't think this is the case here.
>>
>>On the other hand, "Crime and Punishment" was a mandatory reading in the 9th grade in Russian schools and usually you can not love what you have to read <g>
>>
>>But it may go deeper than that. For me some of his works show too much of mental illness and I don't want to be dragged into that...
>
>Oh, now he's nuts? ;-) Maybe Dostoyevsky doesn't translate well into his own language.

He certanly was. Though I don't recall right now reading his biography book.

Try google "Dostoevsky mental illness"