Notes from the Underground (Heathen Edition)
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was a Russian author and journalist regarded as one of the greatest novelists in all of literature whose rich exploration of human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia and penetrating analyses of philosophical and religious themes at large had an immeasurable influence on 20th-century fiction, with many of his works now considered unparalleled masterpieces. His revolutionary 1864 novella Notes from the Underground, featuring one of the most remarkable characters in literature, is considered one of the first works of literary existentialism whose brooding, unnamed narrator defiantly retreats from the "anthill" of society into an underground existence to document his discursive memories and probe the savage truth of the torment he is suffering. Angry and alienated, his obsessive, self-contradictory narrative is one of the most provocative works of literature ever written.
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Dostoyevsky, was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and
journalist. Numerous literary critics regard him as one of the greatest
novelists in all of world literature, as many of his works are considered
highly influential masterpieces. Dostoevsky's literary works explore the human condition in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of philosophical and religious themes. His most acclaimed novels include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880).
"Notes from the Underground is still a modern book; it still can kick." -The New Yorker
"Hilarious yet disturbing." -The Sunday Times
"Dostoevsky published Notes from the Underground in 1864, establishing his reputation as the most innovative and challenging writer of fiction in his generation in Russia." -Rowan Williams, The Guardian
"Dostoyevsky's Underground Man . . . is perhaps the greatest reliably unreliable narrator in world fiction." -The New York Times
"It's a brilliant book, it's viciously funny, and it's so psychologically alive . . . it's one of the most remarkable criticisms of utopianism I've ever read . . . If you're interested in psychology, Dostoevsky is the person for you." -Jordan Peterson
"The most unflinching study of self-loathing in the literary canon." -The Irish Times
"Notes from the Underground, with its mood of intellectual irony and alienation, can be seen as the first modern novel . . . That sense of the meaningless of existence that runs through much of the twentieth-century writing - from Conrad and Kafka, to Beckett and beyond - starts in Dostoevsky's work." -Malcolm Bradbury
"Dostoevsky, the only psychologist from whom I had something to learn." -Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols
"[Dostoevsky] was a psychologist before psychology existed, and his observations were acute and universal." -DBC Pierre
