Notes from the Underground (AmazonClassics Edition)

By: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Constance Garnett - translator

Narrated by: Pete Simonelli

Isolated from society in a tenement basement in St. Petersburg, a malicious former civil servant vents his resentments. In the rambling notes that follow, we are exposed to the inner turmoil of the Underground Man, who represents the voice of his generation. An emotional, paranoid knot of contradictions, the spiteful narrator is also desperate to join a society he loathes, if only to prove his superiority to it.

Exploring themes of free will versus determinism, Dostoyevsky's existential exploration was written to challenge increasingly popular Western egoist philosophies. In the Underground Man, he found the embodiment of the antihero, whose behavior - like all human behavior - defies rationalization.

AmazonClassics brings you timeless works from the masters of storytelling. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or rediscover an old favorite, these new editions open the door to literature's most unforgettable characters and beloved worlds.

Revised edition: Previously published as Notes from the Underground, this edition of Notes from the Underground (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

Public Domain (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

A gripping analysis into the pits of pessimism.

In this short but dense work, Dostoyevsky sets you into the mind of a man who has thoroughly dedicated himself to vice and depravity. Having spent the majority of his life "underground", the story is told through the events of one day in which the main character lets loose his demons in an attempt to take vengance on the social world that he had been brooding over for so long. The orators voice sounds blunt and rude just as would be fitting for this style of character.

Amazing

amazing book. i compared it to my own psych. thr book teaches that we are often stuck in our own heads and the "reality" of the situation at hand is actually quite different than what is in our minds.

Amazing

Heard this from Jordan Peterson. its an amazing piece of art, Its genuinely brilliant

RAW

Nothing wrong with dis title. One of his most brilliant critic. Complete knowledge on the psyche.

Well produced

I have meant to get around this book on the kindle for quite some time but stopped a few pages in. Much due to the nature of the book, obviously not a light read.
But having come across it on audible I tried it and enjoyed the format. Well recommended

Pete simonelli is the best

Pete simonelli gives a strong masculine performance of this work of male humility and emotion and embarrassing confession of the paradox in which Dostoevsky finds us. We are mice, by choice.

Amazing

I have always heard Dostoyevsky was a genius but never read any of his work. This is the first book from him I have listened to and it is the most insightful look into human nature and lies we tell even to ourselves that I have ever heard. I can't wait to download more from him.

An insight into character

This book is one of my favorites that I like to return to. It’s a look into the thinking of an individual that has removed themselves from society, wrapping their mind in a way.

excellent book

great narration. I just keep coming back to hear it again. one of my favorites.

The most important book in my life.

I've reread the physical, and listened to the audio, countless times. It's the one that made me dive into Dostoevsky's work, and his work turned me into a daily reader. It's a malignant, hateful book. It made me discover the ugliness that I have in my heart, that the Underground Man has, and that we all have. It puts works like Jung's theory of integrating your "shadow" into a palpable, identifiable, and relatable story. But on the other side of the Underground Man is intense wisdom, with undeniable truths of human nature and the beautiful opposition of "rational" arrogance. His stance on the Utopian idea that was percolating in Russia at that time was prophetic.
All of that aside I'm not articulate enough to put into words how truly important this book is to me.... Just read it, and let it be your dark passenger through life.