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It is hard for me to put into words everything that I experienced during the roughly month-long period in which I read Demons, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was a masterfully written, extraordinary novel which engrossed me completely from start to finish, despite its staggering length (over 750 pages).

It is even more difficult for me to know where to begin when describing this great opus of Dostoevsky. I was astounded by complexity of the narrative and the level of detail infused into the myriad of colorful characters. It is nearly impossible to fathom how Dostoevsky managed to weave together this plot and keep track of the complex web of relationships between characters, from the start to the end of the novel. The plot twists and turns were dramatic at times (almost scandalous), which left me sometimes astounded, while at the same time curious to find out what would come next. Essentially Demons covers an extremely turbulent and uncertain time in mid-19th century Russia when the serfs have been freed, the aristocracy is in decline and radical socialist ideals are spreading insidiously foreshadowing a dark future for Russia.

The title, Demons, seems to be a reference to the demons that Plague Russia itself based on its tumultuous history through the centuries. The devil within is often more dangerous than the one without:
"These demons who come out of the sick man and enter the swine - these are all the sores, all the contagions, all the uncleanness, all the demons, large and small, who have accumulated in our great and beloved sick man, our Russia, over the course of centuries, centuries!"

But perhaps I would take it a step further. These demons also refer to the individual characters (representing all walks of life in Russia) who each seem to be plagued by their own afflictions, their own demons. Inside of their heads or due to the shocking behavior of their family members or close relations they are tormented as if tortured by demons.

Demons is perhaps not for the faint of heart. It is quite a heavy novel touching on topics such as suicide, murder, infidelity and even pedophilia (if one dares to read the Appendix of the book which included an additional 'missing' chapter that Dostoevsky had originally written, however, it was rejected by his editor for being too obscene and salacious). So I would warn prospective readers of these triggers. However, I do still highly recommend this novel, due to the literary finesse and imagination of Dostoevsky in penning this masterpiece of Russian literature.