‘Notes from Underground’ by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

'I agree that two and two make four is an excellent thing; but to give everything its due, two and two make five is also a very fine thing.' Hey, who knew that Dostoyevsky and the theme tune from School of Rock had something in common? If you do not know what I am talking about, shame on you, and get yourself to YouTube immediately. Notes from Underground, first published as Zapiski iz Podpolya in 1864, tells the tale of the anonymous 'underground man,' a misanthrope who withdraws from society and makes a series of blackly humorous notes about his inner torment.

I had intended to finish reading Notes from Underground over my usual Costa skinny latte this morning, but getting ran over on a zebra crossing while en route to do so put a serious kink in that plan. Thankfully I emerged from that snafu with relatively minor injuries, and my brain must be functioning properly because I managed to finish the book an hour or two ago. Not even a near-death experience can come between me and my bookworm tendencies!

With regards to Notes from Underground itself, I'm not at all sure what to think. The book - I would hesitate to call it a novel, for there is no true plot as such - is laden with observations both sarcastic and embittered. Perhaps my judgement of the work has been affected by certain calamities, but the work did not hold my attention all that successfully. I would describe it as one of those works that is subtle in its brilliance, a book that ought to be read several times in order to appreciate its true worth.

Overall, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground is an interesting book, though it is not nearly as accomplished as Crime and Punishment and his other later works. Consider it a warm-up, if you will.

This piece was originally published on alisonlaurabell.tumblr.com in November 2011.