THE DIARY OF A WRITER

Translated and edited by Boris Brasol, this vast and revealing record appears at a time when interest in the Russian mentality is at its keenest. Dostoevski's diary is a melange of fragments of stories, essays, personal annotations and observations of people, critical reactions to the literary figures and episodes of his times. But most important, the diary contains long discussions of the Russian mind and temperament. Written in the '70's and '80's, it reflects the Russian spirit of those early revolutionary days, long before the ""real"" revolution took place and crystallized into harsh reality the romantic hopes of the preceding generation. The changing condition of the revolution is plain to see from Dostoevski's notes,- but the unchanged condition of Russia's nationalism and messianic complex is also indicated. The Diary is an important work for literary and political students, but its length will inhibit the wider reading public. It is a work, however, assured of both critical interest as well as a permanent place on library shelves.