a lot of literature is like "what if i made up a guy and he was miserable", and this great literary tradition was perfected by Fyodor Dostoevsky. this was such an interesting mix of funny, dark, philosophical, and prescient, it was a bit of a trek to finish but well worth it. i'd put it as the 2nd best of Dostoevsky's 4 great works:

1. Crime & Punishment
2. Demons
3. The Idiot
4. The Brothers Karamazov