Notes From Underground

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Ulviye Alpay (Introduction)

This annotated edition includes original essays and
– A new introduction exploring Dostoyevsky’s influence on modern thought
– A detailed biography of the author’s life and creative development
– A cultural essay examining the author’s impact on cinema, philosophy, and art

Notes from Underground marks the first truly existentialist novel. This annotated edition includes an original introduction, a detailed biography of the author’s philosophical growth, and a cultural essay examining the novel’s lasting impact on film and literature.

A man rages against the world, yet refuses to step into it. He despises others, yet cannot bear to be alone. He is filled with contradictions—sharp, self-aware, and relentless in his dissection of human nature. Notes from Underground is one of literature’s most unsettling confessions, pulling the reader into the mind of an outcast who rejects society yet cannot escape his own torment.

Dostoyevsky tears away illusions of progress and logic, exposing the chaos beneath human consciousness. The Underground Man challenges everything—reason, morality, even the nature of free will—blurring the line between rebellion and self-destruction. What begins as a monologue becomes something far more a mirror reflecting the contradictions within us all. Notes from Underground does not provide answers; it compels us to ask better questions.

At Other Minds Publishing, we present this edition as part of an ongoing artistic dialogue—to amplify how Dostoyevsky’s influence continues to shape literature, cinema, and artistic expression, inspiring new interpretations of his work across generations.

Genres: Classics, Literature, Russia, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

Published September 2, 2025

About the author

Alternate spelling, see main profile Fyodor Dostoevsky

Reviews

[Meg Cook]

Took a long time to wade through the first half, my eyes often losing focus before turning the page, shaking myself awake to give the section one more try. Here's a question featured in my lesson plan for Tuesday: Can we assume that we all want to feel good about ourselves and not bad about ourselves? Underground, that assumption is firmly disproven, like that worst part of myself crawled out and tried living independently. Without much success, to be fair.
From section V: "For the direct, lawful, immediate fruit of consciousness is inertia [...] ingenuous people and active figures are all active simply because they are dull and narrow minded. How to explain it? Here's how: as a consequence of their narrow-mindedness, they take the most immediate and secondary causes for the primary ones, and thus become convinced more quickly and easily than others that they have found an indisputable basis for their doings [...] Oh, gentlemen, perhaps I really regard myself as an intelligent man only because throughout my entire life I've never been able to start or finish anything." Mm! Awful.

[Victoria]

Siempre le diré que si a un depressed dostoyevski… En realidad es fuerte cómo un señor en Rusia hace 150 años se ponía a divagar, lo escribía y a día de hoy me encuentro identificada con su rayada, el problema de la gente hiperconsciente de sí misma, supongo que hemos existido siempre. La segunda parte well, que decir, he’s just a man.

[Aslı Mus]

Do I want to read it again? Yes!!

[steph]

"Para nós é pesado, até, ser gente, gente com corpo e sangue autênticos, próprios; temos vergonha disso, consideramos tal fato um opróbrio e procuramos ser uns homens gerais que nunca existiram. Somos natimortos, já que não nascemos de pais vivos, e isto nos agrada cada vez mais. Em breve, inventaremos algum modo de nascer de uma ideia."

[Cris]

El precio de ser demasiado consciente es la imposibilidad de el auto engaño, ergo de todas sus ventajas. El hombre del subsuelo ha pretendido responder a las preguntas más duras con la honestidad más dolorosa.

[Джамила Джина]

coming soon.

[Mark]

So good
10/10

[XxZEROxx16]

Really confusing 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

[Alix Tate]

Messed up w my brain in a good way

[addi†]

this read like a teenage girls diary at times, and while that was entertaining, not enough sustenance for me to actually enjoy the book. i still adore pevear and volokhonskys translations and dostoyevskys writing, this one just wasn’t for me.