Woody Allen quipped: "I took a speed-reading course once and was able to read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes. It's about Russia". How would he have summed up Fyodor Dostoyevsky's not-so-short story "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man"? I would sum it up as a story that can save lives.
It begins with a man walking St. Petersburg's streets while musing upon how ridiculous his life is, as well as its distinct lack of meaning or purpose. This train of thought leads him to the idea of suicide, which he resolves to commit using a previously-acquired gun. However, a chance encounter with a distressed little girl in the street derails his plans.
In 1990, it was adapted by the BBC as a thirty-minute television special, “The Dream”, directed by Norman Stone and starring Jeremy Irons.
If you ever find yourself drifting into indifference, this small book may be worth an evening of your time. It can be read in a single sitting, perhaps with a cup of tea, yet it carries a weight that many much longer books never manage. Not that it makes any difference to me.
