Poor Folk is an epistolary novel — a tale told as a series of letters between the characters. And oh, what characters these are! Makar Dievushkin Alexievitch is a copywriter, barely squeaking by; Barbara Dobroselova Alexievna works as a seamstress, and both face the sort of everyday humiliation society puts upon the poor.

These are people respected by no one, not even by themselves. These are folks too poor, in their circumstances, to marry; the love between them is a chaste and proper thing, a love that brings some readers to tears. But it isn't maudlin, either; Fyodor Dostoevsky has something profound to say about these people and this circumstance. And he says it very well.

This novel is a profound exploration of poverty and love, capturing the essence of human struggle and dignity.