Occasional essays on the Russian writers: where to start with them, what their titles actually mean, and now and then a word on why we file any of it under Monday Motivation. Published whenever there is something worth saying, which is less often than a content calendar would like.
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August 2026
What “Dead Souls” Actually Means
A man tours the provinces buying dead serfs who are still on the tax rolls. What a soul was worth under serfdom, why the censors called the title blasphemous, and why the book stops in the middle of a sentence.
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August 2026
Where to Start With Dostoevsky
Which one to read first, which three to save, and why almost everyone stops around page ninety. It is rarely the book’s fault — it is usually the names.
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June 2026
Why Chekhov Belongs Under “Wellness Wednesday”
A case for taking your wellness advice from a tubercular physician who never once told you to cheer up, and who was, for the record, extremely funny.
More in due course. We are not in a hurry, and neither were they.