Notes From Underground | Fyodor Dostoyevsky | Read it in context for a better understanding...

Notes From Underground | Fyodor Dostoyevsky | A biped, ungrateful

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Notes From Undergr...

	Notes From Underground Fyodor Dostoyevsky Signet Classics, 2004 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 136 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Read it in context for a better understanding...

Those who read this book should know that it was intended as a parody, a satirical and scathing attack on the prevailing trends in popular philosophy and literature in Russia (Saint Petersburg literary society) in the day (1860's), in which a hasty utilitarianism and egalitarianism were prominent... This book includes several indirect references to, and parodies of some of Dostoevsky's literary rivals and their often empty and poorly thought-out ideological systems and "Utopias"... to really understand these (often quite subtle) undercurrents, I humbly suggest that those REALLY interested check out Joseph Frank's biography of Dostoevsky, which includes a great deal of discussion of all of his works (vol. 3 Chap. 21 is completely devoted to a detailed examination of "Notes from Underground"...), and, importantly, gives a solid historical context in which to fit them... also, if you have the Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation (or intend to get it), read the introduction. It's a good introduction and helps to explain a lot of this. When read with a little understanding of this context, though quite short, this is really a very rich (and funny) book...

Basically, don't take everything the "Underground Man" says literally. many of his absurd expressions are deliberate perversions of popular maxims and attitudes of the time, taking the fashionable new philosophies of "science" to their final conclusions... This book is a defense of Free Will and real Humanity...

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A biped, ungrateful

Let me be the million millionth reader to praise Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground. I finally opened this brilliant tale of a man's mental morass after having the Bantam Classic version on my shelf for years. Years! While another review or the many critical, scholarly examinations of this seminal work will better help you understand this story, I must stake my claim to it's effects on me, and the empathy and appreciation for the Underground man's-thusly Dostoevsky himself-boldness and passion, however anti-social, bitter and vulgar.
While the first part is more of an internal philosophical back-and-forth, finding the man debating the Laws of Nature and the propositions of Fate, the second finds him in action, risking himself against others, in a society of facades, abuses hurled upon abuses, indifference, and pained love.
It is a harrowing read, and taking a translation for what it is, namely a partial recreation of ideas and images true mainly to it's original language, the story is fluid and the attitude and feel of the dingy St. Petersburg apartment, restaurant and streets in which it takes place are vibrant enough for me to be still amazed at the brilliance of Dostoevsky's mind and skill, artistry and sense of the immortal nature of paradox within human existence.
This is a classic, and must be experienced.

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so good

this is one of the best books i've read to date. its about a man and his failure to connect with the world around him. the novel is spilt up into two parts. chronologically the first part happened after the second part so is essentially the underground man reflecting on his past, by a theoretical means. the first part of the book is a philosophy on life and people, and the second part is the manifestation of what he was talking about in the first part.
the underground man is an interesting character because throughout the novel he liberally depreciates himself and celebrates his own misery. he says that he is doomed to be miserable because of his intelligence, because he has the capacity to critically observe the world, and yet because of this very fact he says that he can never be an insect. this reminds me of a quote from Nietzsche 'even a man who despises himself respects himself as one who despises'. but overall, this over critical approach to living hinders the underground man so that he is quite passive throughout the novel, despite his words, which i suppose could be considered an action of sorts. and it's because of this passivity that he fails at connecting with others, isolating himself with his thoughts. now it could be argued that his refusal to act is an expression of his utilizing his freedoms. he acts in a way that is not accepted by society, which is why he is so isolated, but by isolating himself, he is demonstrating that he has the capacity to exercise free thought and action, to not blindly follow the status quo. his outcast status is the ultimate freedom, and yet he's so miserable, which would tie into the intelligence bit. and all of this would leave him going in circles in his thoughts, making them all sound paradoxical because if he does or doesn't he's screwed kind of thing, so he's passive.
but it's good. i liked the theory a bit more than the story manifesting the theory, partially because it gets rid of the trappings and gets right down to the concepts, so less digging on my part, though the digging can be fun i'll admit. i'm in something of a dystopian phase right now and revel in all like material, so this book came to me at a great time. i recommend it to everyone. its a great read and gives you something to think about.

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"I am a sick man..."

Dostoyevsky led a troubled life and struggled with the questions of suffering and the meaning of life. The opening line of Notes From Underground sums it up, "I am a sick man..." Underground is difficult reading, especially for such a short book. It is all over the place with many different streams of consciousness. It appears to be very autobiographical and this is what was the most value to me. If you are a fan of Dostoyevsky, this is essential reading, because it will give you insight into the man and help you understand his more popular works better. The short story "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man," also significantly contributes to an understanding of the man.

On a side note, the included short stories "White Nights" and selections from "The House of the Dead," were interesting stories that can stand on their own.

In short, this is recommended for fans of Dostoyevsky, but the average reader might want to avoid.

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The epitome of the alienated, under-appreciated intellectual

In this book, Dostoyevsky presents a character that is self-possessed, vain, subject to bouts of depressive arrogance, yet seems to be looking for some good to do. He recognizes many of his faults, yet is convinced that they are merely character traits. He lives in poverty, yet has a servant that he treats in a petty and poor way, even though the servant is clearly his moral superior.
The character voluntarily associates with vain and simple men, simply for the opportunity to feel intellectually superior. When slighted, he pouts uncontrollably, talking about a duel with one where he openly states he will fire into the air and give the man the opportunity to kill him.
Continuing his fit of self-centered pique, he visits a young prostitute and treats her as a person. He learns that she was sold into prostitution and has a medical student boyfriend He talks to her and adopts the attitude of someone who will rescue her, giving her his address. However, when she arrives at his residence, he is cruel, telling her that he was only ridiculing her when he was apparently giving her the offer of aid. After he does this, he collapses in tears on the sofa and she holds and comforts him.
I read, "Crime and Punishment" several years ago, so I recognized many of the character traits so prominent in that novel. "Notes From the Underground" was written before his greatest novels yet you see that same very alienated person who has simultaneously adopted the air of complete superiority inextricably bound with feelings of hopelessness and self-loathing. It is a difficult story to read.

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