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Sep 19, 2016Andrew Kyle Bacon rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This book, while well written and engaging, is very involved in the political and philosophical scene in Russia of its day. This makes it difficult to understand the point of without doing some research beforehand on the novella's context. That said, as is typical with Dostoyevsky, the character voice in this book is very strong, and we very quickly gain an understanding of the Underground Man's thought process. Dostoyevsky clearly likes to deal with people on the fringes of society, especially those who seem to have psychological disorders of one sort or another. The first half of the book is the Underground Man's ranting on contemporary philosophy and culture. The second half is a story told by the Underground Man about an encounter with old school "friends" and finally a poor, down on her luck prostitute. The biggest draw for this book is its language and narration. The unreliable narrator is in full force here, so much so that at times he even admits he is a liar and sometimes cannot stand to tell us events at all. Notes from Underground is a fascinating little book, and a very light and quick read despite the density of its language and content.