I really enjoyed this book. Dostoevsky is one of my favorite authors -- and while I had a cursory knowledge of the big events in his life, I didn't have much understanding of the context for those events, his relationships, and how his novels connected to those events and relationships. This book does a great job of bringing us into Dostoevsky's head and heart when he wrote his great novels, and when he missed the mark (which he himself was more aware of than anyone). His compulsion with gambling is nail bitingly presented alongside its impact on those he loved (how did Anna endure all those pawning of her most cherished things when they needed money the most?!). He lived on the edge of survival and extremes of passion and intellect and physical hardship and illness, losing two children in scenes that are heartrenching, yet this seemed to drive the brilliant searching and urgency of his greatest works. Recommended.