Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky is believed to be one of the earliest existential novels to be written. Recounted in the form of memories, the unnamed narrator describes a life of morbid isolation, that festers within itself anger, envy and self-hate. Written with biting sarcasm, the story reveals a suffering and tortured soul.

2) Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is an intense psychological drama that explores the mind of a murderer, laying bare its torment in minute detail. Raskolnikov, an impoverished and destitute young man, oscillating between clarity of thought and abject melancholy in the aftermath of committing a gruesome murder, is plagued by suspicions, regrets, fears and hallucinations on his path to redemption in this incisive, emotional tale.

3) The Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov was Fyodor Dostoevsky’s last work and one of the best stories ever written. The narrative revolves around the members of the Karamazov family, focusing on a series of events and encounters that eventually lead to the gruesome murder of the debauchee Fyodor Pavlovich.

4) The Devils

The Devils, also known as The Possessed, by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a dark and terrifying portrayal of young men steeped in revolutionary ideology and bent upon chaos.

5) The Idiot

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky is the tale of good and innocence in a world consumed with sin and treachery. The last poverty-stricken descendant of an eminent Russian family, the gentle and epileptic Prince Mishkin's life takes a sharp turn when he chances upon a photograph of the sensational Natashia Philipovna.

6) The House of the Dead