Notes from the Underground
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4.0 • 42 Ratings
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Publisher Description
An Apple Books Classic edition.
Widely considered the first modern psychological novel, Notes from the Underground introduces one of literature’s most unforgettable narrators: a lonely, self-destructive civil servant determined to justify his refusal to fit into society. Smart, embittered, and painfully self-aware, he lashes out at the world even as he longs for the connection he insists he doesn’t need.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky crafts a fearless portrait of a mind at war with itself, in language that’s darkly funny and disarmingly vulnerable. As the underground man’s arguments twist themselves into knots, the story becomes a sharp examination of the parts of ourselves we try hardest to hide. Unsettling in its emotional honesty, Notes from the Underground remains a groundbreaking exploration of the contradictions that shape the human soul.
Customer Reviews
An intense read
Dostoyevsky was a literary master and this is a clever book but it’s not an easy read. The ‘thoughts’ of the narrator jump around in a blink and if you’re not paying close attention, it can be confusing. The content is intense and at times it feels more like a study in human behaviour than a work of fiction as the narrator torments himself and those around him. I read this text in small chunks in between other books to break up the intensity and to take some time to ponder.
Whoa Nelly
It’s like cracking a little kernel deep inside the reader’s soul - out of which shines darkness.