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A review by pangnaolin
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I didn't really think I'd like Notes from Underground going into it, so I wasn't surprised when I didn’t. The themes are interesting-- the fear & stress of being known & perceived, isolation & alienation, nihilism, etc-- but I just couldn't really care for how it was presented. Simply, Dostoevsky's critiques of society were interesting to me, but his writing just was not.
The Underground man is supposed to be obnoxious and frustrating-- I understand that-- but it felt a bit too much for me, especially in tandem with my general dislike for the bleak writing style.
A few moments were compelling as I read (2+2 equaling 4 vs. 5 and the 'crystal palace' situation), and I was still interested vaguely in how he came to every conclusion he did and how he navigated the world, but it all felt sort of dampened by how infuriating he was and how quickly everything seemed to move.
The way he amped himself up & let himself own so quickly in response to any small thing felt overplayed, and I couldn't help but feel that it was more reminiscent of how family members of mine have acted when in bipolar mania than of how someone might act because of any amount of isolation or insecurity. At some point, I stopped really getting the sense that the Underground man was a product of society, and felt more like he was a product of his own nature.
My favorite commentary by far was his on the existence of a civil servant in Russia and on class insecurity, while I felt like his commentary on human nature just ended up sort of whiny and over the top.
In general, it was fine & had good things to say, but there are a hundred other books I would've liked to read instead to get a similar perspective on the same topic. I don't think Notes from Underground is a very good show of his writing skills anyway, as far as I've heard, so maybe it's a shame that this is the first of his I've read. I don't imagine I'd read another-- I never even really planned to read one.
The Underground man is supposed to be obnoxious and frustrating-- I understand that-- but it felt a bit too much for me, especially in tandem with my general dislike for the bleak writing style.
A few moments were compelling as I read (2+2 equaling 4 vs. 5 and the 'crystal palace' situation), and I was still interested vaguely in how he came to every conclusion he did and how he navigated the world, but it all felt sort of dampened by how infuriating he was and how quickly everything seemed to move.
The way he amped himself up & let himself own so quickly in response to any small thing felt overplayed, and I couldn't help but feel that it was more reminiscent of how family members of mine have acted when in bipolar mania than of how someone might act because of any amount of isolation or insecurity. At some point, I stopped really getting the sense that the Underground man was a product of society, and felt more like he was a product of his own nature.
My favorite commentary by far was his on the existence of a civil servant in Russia and on class insecurity, while I felt like his commentary on human nature just ended up sort of whiny and over the top.
In general, it was fine & had good things to say, but there are a hundred other books I would've liked to read instead to get a similar perspective on the same topic. I don't think Notes from Underground is a very good show of his writing skills anyway, as far as I've heard, so maybe it's a shame that this is the first of his I've read. I don't imagine I'd read another-- I never even really planned to read one.