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nietzscheesque's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mouniyep's review against another edition
I didn't have time and the book wasn't mine so i gave it back
zoe_271's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
3.75
gerdamightbemyname's review against another edition
5.0
I think I need to give up trying to review this book, I am simply not able to describe how it made me feel.
All I can say is that Dostoevsky writes like no other, the way he can make the reader suffer with the characters is incredible. The underground guy is just miserable and now so am I (thanks Dostoevsky).
Anyway, here’s a few quotes that I believe summarise the book better than I do:
“I’m a sick man…a spiteful man…”
“To be too much aware of things is an illness- a real, genuine illness.”
“And man sometimes loves suffering terribly, passionately so - and this is a fact.”
“Anyway, what can an honest man talk about with the greatest possible pleasure?
Answer: about himself.
So I too will talk about myself.”
“Am I really made for the sole purpose of coming to the conclusion that the way I am arranged is just a swindle?”
“But perhaps a normal person is bound to be stupid.”
All I can say is that Dostoevsky writes like no other, the way he can make the reader suffer with the characters is incredible. The underground guy is just miserable and now so am I (thanks Dostoevsky).
Anyway, here’s a few quotes that I believe summarise the book better than I do:
“I’m a sick man…a spiteful man…”
“To be too much aware of things is an illness- a real, genuine illness.”
“And man sometimes loves suffering terribly, passionately so - and this is a fact.”
“Anyway, what can an honest man talk about with the greatest possible pleasure?
Answer: about himself.
So I too will talk about myself.”
“Am I really made for the sole purpose of coming to the conclusion that the way I am arranged is just a swindle?”
“But perhaps a normal person is bound to be stupid.”
blueyorkie's review against another edition
5.0
On what was to be a particularly dark day, Dostoyevsky decided to portray the most despicable man he could imagine.
This fact is how we could summarize the Basement. The man Dostoyevsky imagined is not an assassin nor even a petty criminal. On the contrary, he is a vile being in every way. He is an anonymous person in whom no one has ever been interested and will never be. He is insignificant. His only way to exist is to annoy others. He does not conceive of existence otherwise.
Having a toothache is a pleasure for him: it gives him a good reason to complain, moan, and prevent others from sleeping. For him, friendship or love has only one meaning, and he claims it proudly: to accept being morally tortured by the other. So we avoid it like we avoid dog poop on the sidewalk. And even that gives him a form of enjoyment.
Inevitably, there is a prostitute with a somewhat childish face. We are in Dostoyevsky. And the way he will behave with her is even lower than you'd expect.
Did Dostoyevsky need to dig deep into the human soul to compose his character? No. He took it all off and left an egoist alone amid men.
Yet even this man can hope for redemption; the end tells us if he repents deep within himself. If we accept this interpretation, this book probably represents the apogee of this strange and tortured current that was Christian existentialism.
This fact is how we could summarize the Basement. The man Dostoyevsky imagined is not an assassin nor even a petty criminal. On the contrary, he is a vile being in every way. He is an anonymous person in whom no one has ever been interested and will never be. He is insignificant. His only way to exist is to annoy others. He does not conceive of existence otherwise.
Having a toothache is a pleasure for him: it gives him a good reason to complain, moan, and prevent others from sleeping. For him, friendship or love has only one meaning, and he claims it proudly: to accept being morally tortured by the other. So we avoid it like we avoid dog poop on the sidewalk. And even that gives him a form of enjoyment.
Inevitably, there is a prostitute with a somewhat childish face. We are in Dostoyevsky. And the way he will behave with her is even lower than you'd expect.
Did Dostoyevsky need to dig deep into the human soul to compose his character? No. He took it all off and left an egoist alone amid men.
Yet even this man can hope for redemption; the end tells us if he repents deep within himself. If we accept this interpretation, this book probably represents the apogee of this strange and tortured current that was Christian existentialism.
ngdrc's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.75
Breve novela de Dostoyevski, pero que sin embargo contiene una gran carga reflexiva, emotiva y, sobre todo, filosófica. Realmente no pensé que esta historia de tan pocas páginas, aparentemente simple (perfectamente narrada) me llegase a impresionar. No considero que sea una de las grandes principales obras del autor; no obstante, si creo que es una lectura que merece la pena y que desde luego es un buen comienzo para comenzar a leer a este genio ruso.
meenaoz's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5