Fyodor Dostoevsky’s story “White Nights” went viral on Western social media, including TikTok and Instagram*. Bloggers and ordinary users record videos about the book, take photographs and quote the work, reports The Guardian.
Author:
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The Penguin Classics edition of White Nights was the fourth best-selling foreign literary title in the UK in 2024, according to the newspaper. London bookstore Hatchards Picadilly told the newspaper that they had already sold 190 copies, although the book had barely sold before.
Dostoevsky’s story has also gained popularity on streaming platforms. For example, thematic playlists “White Nights” with compositions by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Dmitry Shostakovich appeared on the Spotify music service.
As The Guardian points out, one possible reason for White Nights’ unexpected popularity is its small volume. The book has only 80 pages, making it suitable for social media users who aim to read a certain number of books a year, the newspaper explains.
The story was also able to win the love of users thanks to the plot: it tells about a man who lives in a fantasy world, reminiscent of social networks, where people deliberately romanticize their lives, writes The Guardian. “I think the book describes people who think they are better than others, but who actually live in their own reality. Social networks have made us this way,” said blogger Mausami Avira in conversation with the publication.
*Meta and its Facebook and Instagram are recognized as extremist organizations whose activities are prohibited in Russia.
Author:
Bogdan Muzychenko
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
