Demons: (The Possessed) (Wiseblood Classics) (Volume 6)

"'The fire is in the minds of men and not in the roofs of houses,' Dostoevsky writes at one point in DEMONS. The fact remains that for the great Russian novelist art was a theurgical function interdependent with the state of the soul." -George Panichas, THE BURDEN OF VISION DEMONS [THE POSSESSED] follows a small circle of revolutionaries who, dissatisfied with the present state of provincial Russia and the wider world, place their faith in radical political theologies with hopes that the structures of society and being can be changed. Dostoevsky's theological anxieties become strikingly manifest in DEMONS, and the novel gains profundity because Dostoevsky does not combat nihilism by fleeing from it, but by giving it full narrative expression. The novel does not read like a morality tale, even if it portrays the "consequences" or logical practical counterparts of nihilistic philosophies. This moving story of inter-generational tensions, of revolutionaries and criminals, of strong men and underground men, of unbound love and exploited lovers, told by a master psychologist, still has staying power today. This Wiseblood Classic begins with an extended critical introduction to Dostoevsky's novel written by Theology and Fiction scholar Joshua Hren, Ph.D. WISEBLOOD BOOKS is an editing and publishing line dedicated to preserving, discovering, pruning, and printing fiction, essay collections, and other work  fit for the world stage. We believe that many brilliant manuscripts should be published widely but remain buried in desk drawers because they cannot meet the often dubious demands of the New York publishing industry. We aim to remedy that. Through WISEBLOOD CLASSICS we hope to bring hard-to-find great books back into being, and conserve classic works of literature in book form. Many of our CLASSICS, such as this Dostoevsky volume, contain critical introductions and essays. Forthcoming titles include critical editions of Proust and Gogol. Visit us at www.wisebloodbooks.com We are wide-eyed for new epiphanies of beauty.