In the World

In Short

This memoir chronicles a young man’s passage from an impoverished, abusive childhood into the grueling labor of his teenage years. Working as a shop-boy, a kitchen helper on a river steamer, and an apprentice in an icon-painting workshop, he encounters a vivid, often brutal cross-section of Russian society. He witnesses the pervasive influence of poverty, alcoholism, and religious superstition. Despite the relentless pressure to conform to a life of degradation, he finds refuge in books and a stubborn, internal independence. It remains a classic for its unflinching, lyrical portrayal of the human spirit’s resilience against dehumanizing circumstances.

The Story

The narrative begins with the protagonist entering the "world" as a shop-boy in a fashionable boot-shop, a transition that marks his departure from the relative familiarity of his grandparents' home. His master is a small, suspicious man who views the boy’s past—including his time as a rag-picker and thief—with a mixture of fear and contempt. Life here is stifling, characterized by the petty cruelties of a cousin who exploits his seniority and the hollow pretenses of a society defined by status and secrets.

Seeking escape, he eventually finds work as a washer-up on a steamer traveling the Volga. The world of the river is a microcosm of chaos and raw energy. He serves under a volatile cook who alternates between brutal barkings and sudden, manic kindness. Here, the boy witnesses the absurdity and fear of the passengers during a minor mechanical breakdown, which triggers a near-riot. He also encounters a variety of characters, including an uncle who offers hollow, cynical advice and a strange, intellectual cook who feeds his growing hunger for literature. Through these experiences, he realizes that the "world" is a place where people are either crushed by their circumstances or become the agents of their own corruption.

He moves on to an icon-painting workshop, a stifling environment where men labor in a haze of smoke and paint fumes. The master is a greedy, manipulative man who uses the boy to help deceive customers, while the mistress is a woman drowning her own sorrows in drink. Despite the atmosphere, he finds common cause with the other workmen, sharing stories and performing impersonations that briefly relieve the heavy burden of their existence. Yet, he finds himself increasingly repelled by the cyclical nature of their lives, where vodka and women are the only respite from an otherwise bleak reality.

Throughout these years, he experiences the loss of mentors and friends, including a tragic stepfather and fellow laborers who succumb to suicide or petty crime. He navigates these losses with an evolving, hardened perspective. He is often tempted by the same despair that consumes those around him, feeling as though his own soul is being "boiled away." Yet, he refuses to surrender his curiosity or his dignity. The story concludes not with a sudden triumph, but with a deliberate, internal pivot. Recognizing that he is sinking, he determines to forge his own path. He leaves the familiar, suffocating streets of his youth, setting out for Kazan with the secret, burning hope of finding an education that will allow him to break free from the cycle of his upbringing.

How It Unfolds

The apprenticeship begins The protagonist enters the service of a suspicious boot-shop owner who is terrified of his young charge’s history. He is forced to endure the bullying of his cousin and the rigid, joyless expectations of his employer.

Life on the Volga Finding work on a river steamer, he is exposed to the volatile, colorful, and often dangerous characters of the river trade. The experience forces him to confront the erratic nature of authority and the thin line between survival and ruin.

The icon workshop He enters the stifling environment of an icon-painting studio, where he learns the art of deception from his superiors. He finds a sense of solidarity with his fellow workers, though he remains disturbed by their destructive habits.

The call to leave After witnessing the slow degradation of those around him, he reaches a breaking point. He realizes that staying will only lead to his own ruin, prompting a final, determined decision to seek an education in Kazan.

The People

The protagonist is a fiercely observant young man, marked by a “wild desire” to understand the world while simultaneously struggling to avoid being "disfigured" by it. His grandmother remains a central, protective figure, though she is increasingly absent as he wanders further afield. The boot-shop master and the various employers he serves represent the crushing weight of small-mindedness and greed; they are people who measure their lives by narrow, often dishonest gains. His fellow workers, such as the witty Phoma and the tragic singer, illustrate the various ways men cope with despair—some through cynical ambition, others through self-destruction. Finally, there are the women he encounters, like the mistress of the workshop, who reflect the quiet, trapped sorrow of lives lived without agency or hope. Each person he meets serves as a warning or a lesson, shaping his resolve to define himself in opposition to their failures.

In Its Own Voice

The protagonist describes the internal friction caused by his literary awakening among those who find books threatening:

Sometimes I used words out of Smouri's books, in one of which, one without beginning or end, was written, "Strictly speaking, no one person really invented powder; as is always the case, it appeared at the end of a long series of minor observations and discoveries."

Reflecting on the soul-crushing nature of his environment and his struggle to maintain his identity, he notes:

Nothing disfigures a man more terribly than his patience, the submission of his strength to external conditions.

What It's Really About

The central argument of the book is that the most dangerous aspect of poverty is not merely the physical hardship, but the systematic "disfigurement" of the human soul. The protagonist struggles with the question of whether a person can retain their humanity while living within a society that demands compliance, silence, and the adoption of "dirty porridge" as a way of life. It is an exploration of the power of literature to provide an alternative reality and the necessity of individual will in navigating a world that seems designed to crush it. Ultimately, it asks how one can find the light of personal growth when the surrounding environment is defined by apathy, cyclical violence, and the desperate, often destructive search for fleeting pleasures.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate a visceral, authentic account of growth through adversity will find this book deeply rewarding. It provides a window into a vanished world—the Russia of the late 19th century—with all its peculiar customs, religious fervor, and raw, unvarnished class struggles. Reading it feels like walking through a heavy, atmospheric landscape, where the prose is as thick and layered as the smoke in the icon workshop.

Be aware that the text does not shy away from the harshness of the era; it is filled with scenes of domestic abuse, alcoholism, and the casual brutality of the working classes, presented without modern softening. The dialogue often captures the coarse, idiomatic speech of the time, and the worldview expressed by the characters can feel jarringly archaic. However, these elements are precisely what make the narrator’s internal evolution so compelling. He does not sugarcoat his past, nor does he present himself as a faultless hero. Instead, he offers a portrait of a young man who, despite being surrounded by people who have given up on life, insists on looking for the "right road." What stays with the reader is his quiet, unshakeable refusal to be broken, making his eventual departure for Kazan feel like a genuine, hard-won victory for the human spirit.