Romance

White Nights is a short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky that was published in 1848. Set in St. Petersburg, it is the story of a young man fighting his inner restlessness. A light and tender narrative, it delves into the torment and guilt of unrequited love. Both protagonists suffer from a deep sense of alienation that initially brings them together. A blend of romanticism and realism, the story appeals gently to the senses and feelings.

Dalam Olenka, kita dibawa dalam alam absurd penuh obsesi dan ketidakberdayaan: sebuah petualangan pikiran lebih dari perjalanan jasmani. Seorang pria bernama Fanton Drummond, yang kita tahu adalah jelmaan pengarangnya sendiri, digambarkan begitu terobsesi dengan Olenka, seniman perempuan yang keberadaannya menyerupai hantu berkelibat. Dalam perjalanan spiritual ini muncul satu per satu tokoh dengan nama-nama yang terdengar normal sekaligus ganjil: Wayne Newton suami Olenka, tormented writer yang hanya bisa menghamburkan uang dan popularitasnya, M.B. dan M.C., Galpin Danzig, James Gilpur.

The text is a prose rendition of Nizami's 12th-century poetic masterpiece, in which he reshapes the legends of Majnun, the quintessential romantic fool, into a tale of the ideal lover. For the Sufis, Majnun represents the perfect devotee of the "religion of the heart," and the story is an allegory of the soul's longing for God. This is a beautiful production, and it includes a final chapter newly translated from the Persian by Omid Safi and Zia Inayat Khan.