A First Encounter with Dostoevsky  

My first contact with Dostoevsky’s novels was rather belated, I am ashamed to say. It came only when I was twenty-two. And what is more, it was in a sense imposed on me by circumstances. The conditions of my undertaking …





Visit to a Prisoner  

A small, barefoot, ragged little man, handcuffed between two policemen, was proceeding by fits and starts along the dusty deserted street, as if to the rhythm of a painful dance, perhaps because he was lame or wounded in the foot. Between the two uniformed figures, …



The Choice of Comrades  

The last 40 years have witnessed the collapse of most of the great politico-social myths bequeathed to us by the 19th century. As a result, certain kinds of people who had relied on these myths as a compass find themselves …





The Politics of My Novels  

The following comment by the Italian writer was made in response to a critical article written about his work in a French magazine. Mr. Silone has been kind enough to send it to DISSENT for American publication. How can a writer discuss decently …



The Choice of Comrades  

The last 40 years have witnessed the collapse of most of the great politico-social myths bequeathed to us by the 19th century. As a result, certain kinds of people who had relied on these myths as a compass find themselves …



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