--- product_id: 11042011 title: "Demons (Penguin Classics)" price: "€ 34.39" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.at/products/11042011-demons-penguin-classics store_origin: AT region: Austria --- # Demons (Penguin Classics) **Price:** € 34.39 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Demons (Penguin Classics) - **How much does it cost?** € 34.39 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.at](https://www.desertcart.at/products/11042011-demons-penguin-classics) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Demons (Penguin Classics) [Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ronald Meyer, Robert A. Maguire, Robert Belknap] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Demons (Penguin Classics) Review: Great - The Penguin Classic edition of Demons delivers Dostoevsky’s intense exploration of ideological extremism and moral chaos in a clear, sturdy translation with helpful notes that ground the novel’s 19th-century Russian context; the narrative is dark, psychologically sharp, and unflinching in its portrayal of characters driven by cynicism, fanaticism, and spiritual emptiness, and this edition’s supplementary material (introduction, annotations, glossary) makes the complex philosophical and historical references accessible without diluting the power of the original text, so it stands out as a reliable, thought-provoking presentation of one of Dostoevsky’s most challenging masterpieces. Review: An exemplary translation - Demons or Devils or The Possessed, depending on which translation you pick up, is a complex book. Dostoyevsky himself admitted in a letter that he would sacrifice straightforward readability for the tendentiousness of the message(s) he transmits in this novel. As an example the narrator Gogonov shifts from being part of the narrative and observing events to being completely detached from the tale being told. At times the reader wonders how he knows so much of what he tells. He goes from describing the plot without judgment, to judging very acutely certain occurrences and characters being described. Demons takes on a smörgåsbord of very dense political, philosophical and religious issues. This is one of the high points of the novel, its 'inner stuffing,' standard Dostoyevsky fare. You may be forced to stop at times and re-read passages or discussions amongst the characters, to try to take them in, chew them and consider them seriously. Dostoyevsky intended for his audience to ponder the case in point. Many have hailed him prophetic in his prediction - through Shigalyov's political utopia - of the amount of people that would be slaughtered in the 20th century due to political ideologies that did for the most part tend to tilt to the side of 'ego trips', as Robert Belknap correctly observes in the introduction - Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and so on - the number being around 100 million. Most importantly, Dostoyevsky was worried about the influence of materialist, nihilistic and atheistic ideas, aggressively transmitted, which could 'infect' or spread through the inadvertent youth of the day - and did eventually lead to the disasters Russia underwent following its 1917 revolution - when he wrote Demons. Of no less importance is the religious side, with Kirillov and the monk Tikhon as the main proponents, as well as the holy fool Semyon Yakovlevich. There is much that is discussed regarding God, Christ, the church, etc. providing food for philosophical as well as religious thought. The story is divided into three parts, the first concerning itself chiefly with high society in a rural town in 1860's Russia - the 'Society Tale' -, followed by a second part - the Anti-Nihilist 'political tract', if you will - which details closely the workings of the main characters of the work as they plant the seeds of the havoc that will ensue in the third part of the novel, Belknap considering it to be the 'Psychological Novel' part, the invention of which is accredited to Dostoyevsky himself. Demons is profoundly moving. It is inevitable that you sympathize with the main 'villain' - clearly a troubled character - Stavrogin. This man, and his continuous bouts of clear consciousness and what one sees as kindness and magnanimity, make the analysis of his behavior on the other side of the spectrum harder. It is an unfortunate debacle, the state of affairs he ends up creating for himself. Dostoyevsky was clearly pointing the finger at the 'softer' radicals of the 1840's as being the root of the calamity. Their jabberings in support of what were considered 'new' ideas, all the nihilistic and atheistic propositions that were en vogue at the time, would lead to a more active radical next generation that would take it upon itself to 'shake the very foundations of society' and it's moral mores. In the end I gave the book 5 stars because this version is absolutely fantastic. The endnotes are comprehensive and give a much-needed overall guide to Russian cultural and other references throughout the work, as well as a splendid introduction which I read after completing the novel, a chronology, a dictionary of the terms and a list of the characters. A very fine edition from Penguin. If you want to read Dostoyevsky, maybe you could treat yourself to start with The Idiot or something softer, more accessible. But if you want to rush straight into one of his more problematic and intense works, look no further. Just the character Kirillov makes such a dramatic appearance. He is at once a rational, delusional, sympathetic and extreme person, who will keep you hooked to his speeches and actions. Highly recommended. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #21,551 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #11 in Russian & Soviet Literature (Books) #696 in Classic Literature & Fiction #1,658 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (892) | | Dimensions | 7.7 x 5.2 x 1.51 inches | | Edition | New Ed. / | | ISBN-10 | 0141441410 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0141441412 | | Item Weight | 1.32 pounds | | Language | English | | Print length | 842 pages | | Publication date | June 24, 2008 | | Publisher | Penguin Classics | | Reading age | 18 years and up | ## Images ![Demons (Penguin Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91WLfmsWZ5L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great *by A***R on February 27, 2026* The Penguin Classic edition of Demons delivers Dostoevsky’s intense exploration of ideological extremism and moral chaos in a clear, sturdy translation with helpful notes that ground the novel’s 19th-century Russian context; the narrative is dark, psychologically sharp, and unflinching in its portrayal of characters driven by cynicism, fanaticism, and spiritual emptiness, and this edition’s supplementary material (introduction, annotations, glossary) makes the complex philosophical and historical references accessible without diluting the power of the original text, so it stands out as a reliable, thought-provoking presentation of one of Dostoevsky’s most challenging masterpieces. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An exemplary translation *by F***A on March 22, 2009* Demons or Devils or The Possessed, depending on which translation you pick up, is a complex book. Dostoyevsky himself admitted in a letter that he would sacrifice straightforward readability for the tendentiousness of the message(s) he transmits in this novel. As an example the narrator Gogonov shifts from being part of the narrative and observing events to being completely detached from the tale being told. At times the reader wonders how he knows so much of what he tells. He goes from describing the plot without judgment, to judging very acutely certain occurrences and characters being described. Demons takes on a smörgåsbord of very dense political, philosophical and religious issues. This is one of the high points of the novel, its 'inner stuffing,' standard Dostoyevsky fare. You may be forced to stop at times and re-read passages or discussions amongst the characters, to try to take them in, chew them and consider them seriously. Dostoyevsky intended for his audience to ponder the case in point. Many have hailed him prophetic in his prediction - through Shigalyov's political utopia - of the amount of people that would be slaughtered in the 20th century due to political ideologies that did for the most part tend to tilt to the side of 'ego trips', as Robert Belknap correctly observes in the introduction - Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and so on - the number being around 100 million. Most importantly, Dostoyevsky was worried about the influence of materialist, nihilistic and atheistic ideas, aggressively transmitted, which could 'infect' or spread through the inadvertent youth of the day - and did eventually lead to the disasters Russia underwent following its 1917 revolution - when he wrote Demons. Of no less importance is the religious side, with Kirillov and the monk Tikhon as the main proponents, as well as the holy fool Semyon Yakovlevich. There is much that is discussed regarding God, Christ, the church, etc. providing food for philosophical as well as religious thought. The story is divided into three parts, the first concerning itself chiefly with high society in a rural town in 1860's Russia - the 'Society Tale' -, followed by a second part - the Anti-Nihilist 'political tract', if you will - which details closely the workings of the main characters of the work as they plant the seeds of the havoc that will ensue in the third part of the novel, Belknap considering it to be the 'Psychological Novel' part, the invention of which is accredited to Dostoyevsky himself. Demons is profoundly moving. It is inevitable that you sympathize with the main 'villain' - clearly a troubled character - Stavrogin. This man, and his continuous bouts of clear consciousness and what one sees as kindness and magnanimity, make the analysis of his behavior on the other side of the spectrum harder. It is an unfortunate debacle, the state of affairs he ends up creating for himself. Dostoyevsky was clearly pointing the finger at the 'softer' radicals of the 1840's as being the root of the calamity. Their jabberings in support of what were considered 'new' ideas, all the nihilistic and atheistic propositions that were en vogue at the time, would lead to a more active radical next generation that would take it upon itself to 'shake the very foundations of society' and it's moral mores. In the end I gave the book 5 stars because this version is absolutely fantastic. The endnotes are comprehensive and give a much-needed overall guide to Russian cultural and other references throughout the work, as well as a splendid introduction which I read after completing the novel, a chronology, a dictionary of the terms and a list of the characters. A very fine edition from Penguin. If you want to read Dostoyevsky, maybe you could treat yourself to start with The Idiot or something softer, more accessible. But if you want to rush straight into one of his more problematic and intense works, look no further. Just the character Kirillov makes such a dramatic appearance. He is at once a rational, delusional, sympathetic and extreme person, who will keep you hooked to his speeches and actions. Highly recommended. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Dark, Intense, and Really Makes You Think *by D***N on April 9, 2026* This is definitely a heavier read, but in a good way. It’s intense, thought provoking, and really dives into human nature, beliefs, and inner conflict. It’s not something you rush through , it makes you slow down and actually sit with the ideas. At times it feels dark and complex, but that’s part of what makes it so impactful. It’s the kind of book that stays with you and gives you a lot to think about long after you finish. ## Frequently Bought Together - Demons (Penguin Classics) - The Brothers Karamazov: A Novel in Four Parts and an Epilogue (Penguin Classics) - The Idiot (Penguin Classics) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.at/products/11042011-demons-penguin-classics](https://www.desertcart.at/products/11042011-demons-penguin-classics) --- *Product available on Desertcart Austria* *Store origin: AT* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*