The works of Fyodor Mikhailovich (of course, Dostoevsky!).

I simply devoured Gogol in school; his writing style is pleasant and easy to read. Tolstoy is a bit heavier, but if you don't read his French passages in his letters, it's also tolerable – (War and Peace, Resurrection). Dostoevsky and Chernyshevsky – I just couldn't get into them. All these dreams, all these students struggling with each other, all this emotional turmoil – it's not for me; I'm an optimist by nature. I didn't even finish reading any of their books, not even halfway through.