I love deep psychological novels and philosophical questions, but I've already reread Dostoevsky several times. I'm looking for something similar in style and mood - maybe Russian classics or foreign authors?
It's important to figure out what exactly keeps you hooked on Dostoevsky. If you love his psychological dissection - the way he shows what's going on inside a character's head at a moment of moral crossroads - then try Camus. "The Stranger" is completely different in scope and style, but it's the same work with absurdity, with how a person breaks down facing an impossible choice. It's not exactly similar, but it's complementary reading.
But if what grabs you is the ideological mess, when characters argue all night about God, morality, and meaning - then honestly you should look for philosophers, not writers. Or maybe Tolstoy after all (I'd agree with the previous answer on that), but it's more measured with him, the philosophy is more in life's details than in hysterics. There's also Shestov, but that's not novels in the classical sense anymore.
The main thing is don't fall into the comparison trap. I often pick up a book expecting something "like my old favorite," and then I'm disappointed because it's totally different, even though it's actually pretty good on its own. Better to choose not "similar to" but "in a similar range, but with its own thing." Otherwise all other authors end up seeming pale.
After Dostoyevsky, I usually go for Tolstoy - *War and Peace* or *Anna Karenina* if you haven't read them yet. They have that same scope and depth. If you want something closer to his intensity and introspection, Camus or Sartre work pretty well - the French writers are dark, but smart, philosophy woven right into the plot. You could also try Hermann Hesse, *Steppenwolf* especially - it's got that similar atmosphere of breakdown and searching for meaning.
After rereading Dostoevsky a few times, I wouldn't try to find someone "similar" - you risk being disappointed, because nobody writes quite like he does. Better to pick something in the same ballpark, but with its own flavor. Camus, for instance, has a completely different style, but he talks about absurdity and the meaning of life just as piercing as Dostoevsky talks about faith and doubt. "The Stranger" or "The Plague" - shorter than his novels, but philosophically they hold their own.
From Russian writers, you could try Rozanov or Shestov, if you're up for a completely different format - these aren't novels anymore, but philosophical essays, though they've got just as much internal intensity. But I can recommend Bely's "Petersburg" - there's genuinely that similar tension, symbolism, the same obsession with the main character's ideas. Just a heads up though: the style is modernist, the text is very dense, heavy. Not for quick reading.
Here's the catch though: if you're looking for "Dostoevsky, but different," there's a risk you'll come back to his works again in a couple of months. Maybe it makes sense to take a little break from philosophical novels altogether first, then pick someone from a completely different universe - that helps you come back to Dostoevsky with fresh eyes afterward.
Here's the thing: if you go looking for literally "another Dostoyevsky," you'll definitely be disappointed, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to read - you just need to figure out what actually grabbed you about him. His power isn't just in psychology, but in how he puts characters in extreme situations where they're forced to prove something to themselves and the world, and that's where philosophy gets born right out of life.
Try approaching it differently: pick writers who grappled with similar questions but in a completely different style. Camus, for instance, is much more compact and detached, but "The Stranger" or "The Plague" - that's the same despair and search for meaning. Or Kafka - if you want psychological tension without the epic scope, that's your guy. Among Russian writers, there's Andreyev too, he's underrated, and his stories about internal conflict are often more cutting than thick novels.
Log into answer.
