Fyodor Dostoyevskyâs novels and stories delve deep into the mysteries of the mind. Characters grapple with the most basic questions of existence, including what it means to be moral, what it means to love, and what it means to be human. Exploring many of the same themes as in his longer works, these small masterpieces move from the tender and romantic âWhite Nightsâ, an archetypal nineteenth-century morality tale of pathos and loss, to the famous âNotes from the Undergroundâ, a story of guilt, ineffectiveness, and uncompromising cynicism, and the first major work of existential literature. Among Dostoevskyâs prototypical characters is Yemelyan in âThe Honest Thiefâ, whose tragedy turns on an inability to resist crime. The other stories include: âThe Christmas Tree and Weddingâ, âThe Peasant Mareyâ, âA Gentle Creatureâ, âThe Dream of a Ridiculous Manâ. Each story is engaging, relatively short and told in a similar style, usually featuring a male narrator who is troubled, lonely, intelligent and narcissistic.