White Nights

Author: Dostoevsky

Translated by. Sami Al-Durubi

A classic short novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, it transports the reader to worlds of loneliness, fragile dreams, and the fleeting spectrum of love, set against the backdrop of St. Petersburg during its White Nights of summer, when night fades and the sun does not set.

The novel revolves around a sensitive and lonely young man, living on the margins of the city without real friendships, until one evening he meets a girl named Nastenka by the riverbank. Over just four nights, a deep human connection develops between them, as they share dreams, confessions, and anticipation, in moments that oscillate between hope and heartbreak.

"White Nights" is a profound contemplative work on the human soul, and on humanity's capacity to cling to dreams, even while recognizing their fragility. It is a novel about loneliness when it becomes a companion, and about love when it touches the heart and then leaves its eternal mark on memory.