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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
reflective
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
I think at first I really didn’t know how I should feel. The beauty of Dostoevsky is that you gain knowledge through the discourse of his writing, in my opinion (lucky to have a S/O that challenges my perspective). To write a paradoxical character in action vs. thought creates the overall conflict we face in life everyday, which then helps us connect with a narrator that we are compelled to hate. It’s all very charming and, though at times I wanted to put it down, eventually kept my interests flowing.
4.5/5 — I know this was the author’s intent, but still I’m taken aback by how much the underground man’s absurd stream of consciousness reflects my own. Or maybe, how it did in my adolescence and still sometimes creeps in today. His morbid self-awareness depriving him of free will and fostering a disgusting narcissism… unfortunately relatable!
The first part was a very challenging and slow read (I needed to supplement my reading with sparknotes summaries), but the second part was rapturous! The challenge is worth enduring.
My favorite excerpts:
Page 27 — You see: reason, gentlemen, is a fine thing, this is unquestionable, but reason is only reason and satisfies only man’s reasoning capacity, while wanting is a manifestation of the whole life capacity — that is, the whole of human life, including reason and various little itches. And though our life in this manifestation often turns out to be a bit of trash, still it is life and not just the extraction of a square root.
Page 31 — Man loves creating and the making of roads, that is indisputable. But why does he so passionately love destruction and chaos as well? Tell me that!
Page 42 — It’s perfectly clear to me now that it was I who, owing to my boundless vanity, and hence also my exactingness towards myself, very often looked upon myself with furious dissatisfaction, reaching the point of loathing, and therefore mentally attributed my view to everyone else.
Page 53 — I could get used anything — that is, not really used to it, but somehow voluntarily consent to endure it.
Page 54 — Either hero or mud, there was no in between. And that is what ruined me, because in the mud I comforted myself with being a hero at other times, and the hero covered up the mud: for an ordinary man, say, it’s shameful to be muddied, but a hero is too lofty to be completely muddied, consequently one can get muddied.
The first part was a very challenging and slow read (I needed to supplement my reading with sparknotes summaries), but the second part was rapturous! The challenge is worth enduring.
My favorite excerpts:
Page 27 — You see: reason, gentlemen, is a fine thing, this is unquestionable, but reason is only reason and satisfies only man’s reasoning capacity, while wanting is a manifestation of the whole life capacity — that is, the whole of human life, including reason and various little itches. And though our life in this manifestation often turns out to be a bit of trash, still it is life and not just the extraction of a square root.
Page 31 — Man loves creating and the making of roads, that is indisputable. But why does he so passionately love destruction and chaos as well? Tell me that!
Page 42 — It’s perfectly clear to me now that it was I who, owing to my boundless vanity, and hence also my exactingness towards myself, very often looked upon myself with furious dissatisfaction, reaching the point of loathing, and therefore mentally attributed my view to everyone else.
Page 53 — I could get used anything — that is, not really used to it, but somehow voluntarily consent to endure it.
Page 54 — Either hero or mud, there was no in between. And that is what ruined me, because in the mud I comforted myself with being a hero at other times, and the hero covered up the mud: for an ordinary man, say, it’s shameful to be muddied, but a hero is too lofty to be completely muddied, consequently one can get muddied.
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
If you're into philosophical ramblings you'll probably love this book. I appreciated the book for what it was, just not really my cup of tea. The second part was better for me since there was more of a plot. I was impressed with how on point some of the author's observations about life and humanity are even today.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
challenging
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