We Parted on the Brightest Night: Dostoevsky's Short Story White Nights

Author Fyodor Dostoevsky · Publisher Wilma · Published 2026-06-17 · ISBN 9791199757684

About the Book

The Reason Why 176 Years of Solitude Reaches Today's Youth
“In the era of SNS and online, the 20s are more ready to understand Dostoevsky than ever before.”

Before Dostoevsky became known as a literary giant, his short story "White Nights," a youthful love song written in his twenties, swept across the UK, becoming the best-selling book of 2024. In a global social media landscape (TikTok BookTok) dominated by romance and fantasy new releases, this unexpected resurgence of a two-century-old classic is attributed to the unique empathy of Generation Z. The so-called 'Main Character Syndrome' of modern youth, who romanticize their lives on social media while carrying loneliness and longing, perfectly aligns with the anonymous 'dreamer' in the novel, who exists only within his self-spun narrative. This book, "We Parted on the Brightest Night," aims to restore the master's insights, which intricately capture desperate loneliness and momentary joy within an accessible volume, offering timeless solace to young readers who, even at this moment, feel isolated and dream of a true connection.

The great author's sentences revived by the hand of novelist Kim Hee-sook,
Own a single volume containing Dostoevsky's breath, including the original text

The protagonist of this novel has no name. The female protagonist is also only referred to by the nickname 'Nastenka'. They only truly become real to each other through 'stories' and 'confessions'. To capture the characteristic of the work, where the narrative unfolds through character dialogue, novelist Kim Hee-sook, who majored in Russian literature, took on the translation, delicately restoring the characters' peculiar and lyrical way of speaking. The original form of the novel, which the great author explored in his youth before becoming a master, is thus revived with a modern sensibility. Furthermore, unusually for a Korean translation, the Russian original text is included, adding a unique value of being able to possess the raw aura of the master's first written sentences.

An aesthetic object that meets the photographs of artist Lee Ok-to to complete your bookshelf

Above all, this book prominently features the title "We Parted on the Brightest Night" instead of the original title, directly expressing the tragic sentiment of separation that is all the more brilliant. The youthful attitude that says, "Such a moment of profound happiness, isn't that enough for one person's life?" meets the photographs of artist Lee Ok-to, who possesses a unique cool and transparent aesthetic, completing a perfect visual narrative. This aesthetic concept, which overwhelms with images before one even reads, goes beyond the act of reading a book and becomes a singular 'literary object' that completes one's own world by merely possessing it.


From the Book

It was a beautiful night. Such a night, dear reader, a beautiful night you only encounter in your youth. The star-filled night sky was so brilliant that, looking at it, I couldn't help but ask, 'How do people live under such a beautiful sky, with all that anger and capriciousness?'
This, too, is a question of youth, one that only youth can have. Dear reader, may God grant you such questions more often in your soul……!
- Page 8

I had no dacha to visit, and no reason to go to one at all. Nevertheless, I was ready to leave with all the carriages, with all the respectable gentlemen who had hired them. But not a single person, truly no one, invited me. It was as if they had forgotten my existence. To them, I seemed merely a stranger, and indeed I was a stranger!
- Page 16

A woman stood leaning against the canal railing some distance away. With her arms resting on the lattice work of the railing, she seemed to be intently gazing into the murky waters of the canal. She wore a cute yellow bonnet and a smart black cloak. 'That young lady must have dark skin and brown hair,' I thought. The woman, seemingly oblivious to my footsteps, did not even stir as I, clutching my violently pounding heart, held my breath and walked past her.
- Page 19

“My name is Nastenka.”
“Nastenka! Is that all?”
“Is that all? Is that not enough? You are truly greedy!”
“Not enough? It's enough, more than enough. Nastenka, you are truly a good person. To be Nastenka to me from the very beginning!”
- Page 39

She squeezed my hands tightly, nodded, and then darted into the alley. I stood still for a long time, watching her disappear.
As soon as she was out of my sight, only these words echoed in my mind:
‘See you tomorrow! See you tomorrow!’
- Page 86

“I will love you. Even if you still love him, even if you continue to love that person I don’t even know, I will love you. So that my love does not become a burden to you, I will love you without you realizing it. But you will hear it every moment, you will feel it every moment. The beating of a warm heart by your side, a heart that is grateful and overwhelmingly thankful to you……
Ah, Nastenka, Nastenka! What have you done to me……!”
- Page 113

How quickly she pulled her hand away from mine and ran towards him! I stood still as if dead, watching the two of them. But just as she reached out to him and was about to embrace him, she suddenly turned around again and ran back to me like the wind, like lightning. And before I could even collect myself, she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me deeply and passionately. Then, without a word, she ran back to him, took his hands, and led him away.
I stood for a long time, watching their retreating figures disappear into the distance…
Finally, both of them vanished from my sight.
- Page 124

Please forgive me, remember and love me.
Your Nastenka.
- Page 128

May your sky always be clear, may your lovely smile always be bright and unblemished, may blessings abound for you in moments of boundless joy and happiness, for you have brought moments of joy and happiness to someone's lonely heart, filling it with gratitude!
Yes! Such a moment of profound happiness!
Is that not enough for one person's life……?
- Page 130

Table of Contents

1. White Nights_A Sentimental Novel, from the Reminiscences of a Dreamer
First Night
Second Night
Nastenka's Story
Third Night
Fourth Night
Morning

2. Белые ночи_Dostoevsky's 〈White Nights〉 Original Text
Ночь первая
Ночь вторая
История Настеньки
Ночь третья
Ночь четвёртая
Утро

Translator's Afterword