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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
The main character was so pathetic that it made me angry, so I guess Dostoevsky succeeded there. He starts the novel with a disclaimer, this is a person that could very much exist in real life, and they do, you see them online all the time! Politics social media couldn't exist without them.
The 'Underground' part was less 'enjoyable' than the Notes (which still riles me up).
Good reminder to go outside and be a normal functioning human being...
Unsure how to rate this.
The 'Underground' part was less 'enjoyable' than the Notes (which still riles me up).
Good reminder to go outside and be a normal functioning human being...
Unsure how to rate this.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The underground man represents the base and grotesque part of human nature that is usually kept hidden behind a facade of respectability. He is a paradoxical being, often paralysed by his own contradictions due to his heightened consciousness; he sees the world very clearly and yet cannot fully participate in life because he knows in the end everything if futile and meaningless and therefore values lofty suffering over cheap happiness. He finds pleasure in his pain, his suffering seems to give him a strange sort of satisfaction, Dostoyevsky thus explores the idea that ‘cheap happiness’ is merely the ignorance of pain; to live fully is to suffer completely. The underground man embodies this idea completely, he lives a lonely, nihilistic, painful existence, and yet he would prefer this conscious misery of the ‘nasty truth’ than to live in a lie of happiness. This book was mega depressing and sometimes entirely dull, but Dostoevsky’s brain is a wonderfully fucked up place and I am so glad I read this book.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For the reader who likes deep emotional reading and reflection rather than easy-reading. Our unnamed narrator tells the story of his adulthood and how he writes it from living in solitude reflecting on being outcast from society (by choice). He sees humans as predictable within the laws of nature, superiority complex, and classism. He acknowledges how different things may have been had he took different actions in situations that defined him as a “failure” to societies expectations as he reveals the brutal honesty of humanity and questions what the meaning of it all is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism
Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dostoevsky wrote an Incel a century before the term became commonplace.
Interesting reflections on the philosophy of the time, but a fair amount is lost to the ideas (especially those mocked originating from What Is To Be Done?) being lost to modern audiences + some tsar censor fuckery.
The toothache rant is humorous and the underground man is definitely interesting to read.
My edition came with two introductory Essays about Dostoevsky's intent and the translation from Russian that greatly increased my enjoyment.
Interesting reflections on the philosophy of the time, but a fair amount is lost to the ideas (especially those mocked originating from What Is To Be Done?) being lost to modern audiences + some tsar censor fuckery.
The toothache rant is humorous and the underground man is definitely interesting to read.
My edition came with two introductory Essays about Dostoevsky's intent and the translation from Russian that greatly increased my enjoyment.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse
reflective
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think dostoevsky did it. he made the most annoying character of all time. i think he’s supposed to be this way and if so, great work. if not, really missed the mark here. I think i don’t agree with some of the ideas around freedom and class and bureaucracy but i think on the whole it got me thinking.
he reminded me a lot of 30 rock when liz lemon went to her high school reunion: https://youtu.be/NoUrLbHg5z4?si=t_pCkkbgbhusyD3r
he reminded me a lot of 30 rock when liz lemon went to her high school reunion: https://youtu.be/NoUrLbHg5z4?si=t_pCkkbgbhusyD3r
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes