The novella follows the story of a young man named Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, who encounters a former classmate, Alexei Ivanovich, at a park. Alexei reveals to Yakov that he has had a dream in which God spoke to him and told him that there is no meaning to life. The dream causes Alexei to question the purpose of his own existence and he becomes increasingly detached from reality. The story explores themes of nihilism, existential crisis, and the search for meaning in life.
By Fyodor Dostoevsky · First published 1877 · Genre: Philosophical Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction · 5 chapters