Notes from Underground, The Double and Other Stories

by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (Translator), Deborah A. Martinsen (Introduction)

Notes from Underground, The Double and Other Stories, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:

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 Often considered a prologue to Dostoevsky’s brilliant novels, the story “Notes from Underground” introduces one of the great anti-heroes in literature: the underground man, who lives on the fringes of society. In an impassioned, manic monologue this character—plagued by shame, guilt, and alienation—argues that reason is merely a flimsy construction built upon humanity’s essentially irrational core. Internal conflict is also explored in “The Double,” a surreal tale of a government clerk who meets a more unpleasant version of himself and is changed as a result. In addition to these two existential classics, this collection also includes the psychologically probing stories “The Meek One,” “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man,” and “White Nights.”

Deborah A. Martinsen is Assistant to the Director of the Core Curriculum at Columbia University and Adjunct Associate Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature. She is the author of Surprised by Shame: Dostoevsky's Liars and Narrative Exposure.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Russia, Russian Literature, Literature, Philosophy

451 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published September 1, 2003

About the author

Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский (Russian)

Works, such as the novels Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880), of Russian writer Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky or Dostoevski combine religious mysticism with profound psychological insight.

Very influential writings of Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin included Problems of Dostoyevsky's Works (1929),

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky composed short stories, essays, and journals. His literature explores humans in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century and engages with a variety of philosophies and themes. People most acclaimed his Demons(1872) .

Many literary critics rate him among the greatest authors of world literature and consider multiple books written by him to be highly influential masterpieces. They consider his Notes from Underground of the first existentialist literature. He is also well regarded as a philosopher and theologian.

(Russian: Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (see also Fiodor Dostoïevski)

Reviews

[Brady Billiot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t help compare this to Tolstoy short story collection because they read them at the same time. This one definitely is more hit or miss for me. I love Dostoyevsky. He’s written multiple of my favorite novels, but some of the short stories just didn’t do it for me. I would review every single one, but I’m a bit lazy.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Notes from Underground and White Nights in this edition. They were very compelling and interesting.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes from Underground, the Double and Other Stories is a collection of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s short fiction:

Overall, I rate this collection 4 stars with this individual break down of the stories:

The Double - 3 stars
White Nights - 4 stars
Notes from the Underground - 5 stars
The Meek One - 2 stars
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man - 4 stars

Dostoevsky is definitely an acquired taste. These stories get pretty heavy in parts and sometimes very dark with themes of suicide, descending into madness, etc. IMO, Dostoevsky stands alone in his psychoanalysis of his characters. Notes from the Underground will be the most memorable story out of this collection. Not trying to be dramatic but it was fascinating reading and it shook me to my core with the writing style that Fyodor Dostoevsky used.

If you are looking for a short introduction to Dostoevsky and his style - I recommend checking out The Dream of a Ridiculous Man and Notes from the Underground. Both are very worthwhile.

I’m marking this down for the “Classic in translation” O4 square for my Classic BINGO challenge I’m working on this year.

Fyodor Dostoevsky will forever be one of my favorites. I recommend this for fans of his work or those that want a short introduction to his work.

[Skyli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hated on the dream of a ridiculous man and now i am taking my words back…
In this collection, Dostoevsky’s unfortunate antiheros all have their Great Big Realizations all too late except for the dream’s narrator. Though it took him having a thousand year’s dream of dying to be redelivered to an ancient earth all to corrupt it and watch the fall of man, he still emerged with a heart of hope. If he can do it maybe i can too

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read Dostoevsky's other major works, I was eager to read this collection of his shorter works. They are quite different from his other works. I enjoyed some of them, but they weren't really what I was expecting. Unless you're really into Dostoevsky, this collection can wait.

[Mohammad Sadegh Rasooli · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://delsharm.blog.ir/1400/02/24/ug

این مجموعه شامل داستان‌های بلند و کوتاه فئودور داستایوسکی است. این داستان‌ها عبارتند از سه نوولای «همزاد»، «شب‌های روشن»، «یادداشت‌های زیرزمینی»، و دو داستان کوتاه تقریباً بلند! «فرد فروتن» و «رؤیای آدم مضحک».
در همهٔ این مجموعه‌ها داستایوسکی نشان می‌دهد که در هر گونه‌ای از روایت به ظرائف روان‌شناسی شخصیت واقف است. در «همزاد» فاصلهٔ طبقاتی و مفهوم شرم از خود را نشان می‌دهد. در شب‌های روشن فضای رومانتیستی آن زمان را در شخصیت متجلی می‌کند. یادداشت‌های زیرزمینی نقدی است بر عقل‌گرایی آن دوره و البته پرحجم‌ترین کتاب از نظر محتوا با کوتاه آمدن از داستان‌گویی دقیق. «فرد فروتن» یک داستان روان‌شناسانهٔ دقیق با تعلیقی جالب و فضای روایتی غیرقابل اتکاست. و در نهایت «رؤیای آدم مضحک» نقدی صریح بر فضای علم‌زده و نیست‌انگار جهان پیرامون دارد. همهٔ این داستان‌های خواندنی هستند. «دبورا مارتینسن»، استاد ادبیات روس دانشگاه کلمبیا، در مقدمهٔ این نسخه از کتاب، نقدهای دقیقی بر هر کدام از داستان‌ها نوشته است که پیشنهاد می‌کنم بعد از خواندن هر کدام از آن داستان‌ها، آن نقدها را بیابید و بخوانید.


هر چه بیشتر از داستایوسکی می‌خوانم، متوجه می‌شوم یک سر و گردن از همهٔ نویسندگان کلاسیک بالاتر است. از نظر مضمون بعید می‌دانم مدرن‌ها هماوردش باشند.

[si ( ◠‿◠ ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a weird experience for me. dostoevsky wrote my all-time-favorite book “the idiot” so i was expecting to like his short stories. but i’m not a short story person, i usually never enjoy them unless they’re *really* short, so these were meh. i liked the first one (the double) but “white nights” and “notes from the underground” were extremely boring to me. HOWEVER. when i got to “the meek one” i was more interested and then!!! the last short story!!! “the dream of a ridiculous man” WOW. that has to be one of the best/most interesting things i’ve ever read in my life. i’m glad i stuck with it bc i would not have wanted to miss out on that. wow.

[Linards Jansons · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Constance Garnett translation of Notes from Underground is fine, but I upgraded to the Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky translation because my Wordsworth Classics edition (not the one pictured here) has a really tacky Mills and Boon style cover. I just couldn't cope with it any longer.

Dostoevsky came to me in a dream and said he was pleased with my choice.

See my Goodreads review of the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation of Notes from Underground.

[Nicko · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My God, a whole moment of happiness! Is that too little for the whole of a man's life?"

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always rate books by my experiences during the process of reading it. Admittedly I enjoy the discourse it brings to my conversations, but I can't deny that my time with Dostoevsky is not without struggle.

1. Dostoevsky's writing demands your full focus and some more. He raves and rants contradicting proclamations that the slightest wandering of the reader's mind would result to the loss of the train of thoughts he forced them to think about. The paragraphs are torturous at times. It just goes on and on (for like two pages or so). I had to crawl my way through his ramblings in the first part of Notes From Underground to the point that I had actual tantrums about it haha!

2. You'll catch yourself once or twice thinking that you've stumbled upon a particular gem of wisdom. But then like so many other quotes, a gem is formed by taking them out of the bigger context why they were written.

3. His "heroes" (if we can even call them that) follows the same formula. Male, middle-aged, intellectual, lacking social niceties, somehow thinks he's better than his peers even though he spends most pages insulting himself, finds a female in need of "saving," then berates her in some sick need to feel any semblance of power.

Reviewers say that Dostoevsky have a firm grasp in the human nature. That his characters evoke sympathy. That was not the case for me.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dostoevsky's collection was a rather difficult read for me. I wanted to do it justice by really thinking about what I was reading. It took me longer to get through it than is normal, but I still think it was a worthy read.

I've heard that Dostoevsky was a genius and I definitely think that comes through in his writing. In spite of the cultural and period differences, there is still a relevant cross-current through each of his works. Philosophically, I think Dostoevsky understood a lot about human nature, but I suspect that he based a lot of his character's thoughts on his own (hopefully exaggerated) viewpoints.

His characters with the exception of the ridiculous man, are pretty despicable examples of the human race: self-absorbed narcisstic men who might actually be doing the world a favor by maintaining their isolated existences apart from society. Yet it was a fascinating insight into the mind of intelligent and analytical men and I think it may hold true for a lot of individuals even in today's world.

[Seri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I read Notes from the Underground I was repulsed by the main character - but after a second reading you realize that The Underground Man is a rare hero - a hero of the modern condition. The scariest part about the Underground Man is you may see some of yourself in him. Deeply philosophical and perhaps Dostoevsky's darkest work. Not the similarities to Taxi Driver starring Robert Deniro.

The early short novella The Double is also inlcuded and is a great work! The story is very kafkaesque and absurd; about a man who meets his doppledanger. This must have been an inspiration for the films Fight Club and The Machinist.

Also included is White Nights (an uncharacteristic Dostoevsky story) and Dream of a Ridiculous Man(a great complement to Notes from the Underground. One complaint is this volume is a weak translation by Constance Garnett. You are better off going with any other translation.

[Brandon Whitaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will first note that this is a very thoughtful collection. These stories have been bundled together under the collective theme of isolation, with each story reflecting different aspects of Dostoevsky's incredible insight into the human condition. These stories pulse with the distresses and delusions of his culture, and they are in many cases shamefully relatable. Some of these stories are likely to land differently than others --- I, for example, was prodded to a lot of self-reflection by White Nights, though others may not be inclined to care for it. Notes from Underground is perhaps the most prominent, and The Double is perhaps the most frequently adapted, so at the very least it is worth becoming familiar with them if you wish to be better acquainted with Dostoevsky's work. I do think, however, that the lot of them say a lot about his perspective on the individual, and they are all worth the read.

[Drkshadow03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short novel takes the form of a diary written by the underground man concerning everything he despises about 19th century Russian society, its people, and the philosophical ideas of the time. The first half of the book features his rambling, repetitive, and contradictory thoughts about the world, while the second half takes the form of a more traditional narrative and plot in which the underground man invites himself to a farewell dinner party with some former classmates to prove his superiority to them and attempts to redeem a prostitute only for their roles to be reversed when she almost redeems him.

The main character is a repulsive human being whose spite and resentment of society drives him to enjoy attempting to abuse and humiliate others; although he usually only ends up humiliating himself. The novel fits within the tradition of fiction in which a social outcast or madmen is able to notice and critique the shortcomings of society such as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Miguel Cervantes’ Don Quixote.

Everything about the main character is paradoxical. The underground man is plagued by an ironic sense of his lack of self-worth, while reveling in his self-importance. He is a conflicted man who both rails against his degraded state as unjust, but also celebrates it as an ideal. He both hates society and longs to be acknowledged by it. All of this leads to a character inflicted by paralysis and impotence who second guesses every choice and decision he makes because he constantly worries about how others will interpret his actions. There is a lot of psychological insight here as we have all met someone who is critical of society, but simultaneously desires to be validated by it.

The underground man crashes the farewell dinner party for his former schoolmate and childhood nemesis Zverkov who represents all that the underground man considers bad in 19th century Russia. Zverkov is a man of action who cares only about getting good positions within society, his various conquests of women, and the flattery of his friends. This existence is all about superficial appearances, trivial pursuits, and external validation. The underground man fantasizes about having his former classmates realize his superiority compared to them and hoping they will beg for his lifelong friendship when they come to realize the depth of his soul and intelligence, but this deluded expectation only leads him to insult everyone and make a fool of himself at the dinner party, which only increases their contempt for him.

If Zverkov is about superficial niceties and social status, while the underground man is all inner emotion and deep feeling transfigured to spite and resentment against society and people, then Liza the prostitute provides the middle ground. The underground man conceives of life as the choice between a superficial happiness of trying to fit into society and caring about frivolous things versus noble suffering and angry rebellion against a society that fails to recognize hidden worth.

“Which is better—cheap happiness or exalted suffering? (350).

As a prostitute in a socially degraded state and lack of future prospects as the underground man points out to her in his attempt to save her, Liza still manages to take action to assert herself. When she comes to the underground man’s house, she finds not a savior, but discovers him acting spiteful and resentful towards his servant who he believes is slighting him, even then she doesn’t reject him. Through a true act of empathy she is the only character able to see the underground man for what he truly is underneath all that abuse and resentment, a sad and hurting man longing for some kind of connection in the world.

“What happened was this: Liza, insulted and crushed by me, understood a great deal more than I imagined. She understood from all this what a woman understands first of all, if she feels genuine love, that is, that I was myself unhappy (345).”

She hugs him and comforts him as he cries and reveals his true nature to her. She engages not in the fake external relationships of Zverkov or the bitter resentment of the underground man, but expresses a genuine authentic moment of real empathy and caring about another person. She is compassionate rather than self-absorbed like the underground man. Dostoevsky suggests that real authenticity and real meaning is to be found in genuine relationships based in love and caring for our fellow human beings, not superficial external honors and social achievements (Zverkov) or unbridled resentment and egotistical sense of superiority that one’s suffering and victimization is noble (underground man).

Although Liza temporarily makes a connection with the underground man and sees through the facade of his abusive behavior to witness the sad and hurting human being underneath, she leaves when she comes to realize that he will never be able to show any true affection back. He may have shown a moment of weakness, but eventually he comes to resent showing someone his vulnerability, which only leads him to further rage and abuse against Liza followed by contrition in an endless cycle of spite and regret. He chooses then to continue to suffer, which brings us to the underground man’s critique of enlightenment ideals that society can be perfected if only people could understand what is good and in their best interest.


As the underground man shows with his own behavior, the problem is that men don’t always want what is best or good or rational; they prefer freedom and independence to make their own choices, even if it goes against their best interests. The underground man purposefully makes choices that he knows will make him miserable, but does so out of a misguided sense that his suffering is honorable and functions as a condemnation of a corrupt society. As he argues in the book, if it were possible to create a system that allowed every person to make the best choice for themselves and towards other in every situation, it is human nature to reject it and choose a bad choice on purpose simply from the desire to be able to choose for one’s self. If it were possible to create a science of actions and always choose what is good and rational, life would become pointless because we would know what our entire life would look. We would have nothing left to do except to follow the map. As Liza shows, though, our lot in life might suck and be full of vicious and vapid people, but we still can choose how we respond to it.

[Russell Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal. Cursed with hyper consciousness, the post modern disease.

White nights - one of my favorites stories of all time. Resonates.

Underground man - amazing. Penetrating

The double - weaker execution. Good concept.

The meek one - couldn’t tear myself away. Don’t become him. Or any of them.

Ridiculous man - good thought experiment

Come back to these often. Prescient

[Matthew Walton]

"Is there suffering on this new earth? On our earth we can only love with suffering and through suffering. We cannot love otherwise and we know of no other sort of love. I want suffering in order to love."

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly not impressed. Notes was OK at best, but you’ve got to have the political context or else the first half is virtually unreadable. The Double was more entertaining to say the least, but it still didn’t grab me like I wanted it to.

[Sparkleypenguin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read Notes from the Underground from this version, not the other stuff. :-P

[Karen Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Can a man of perception respect himself at all?" ~Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from the Underground

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quotes:

From “The Double” -

To the bold all ways lie open!



From “Notes From Underground” -

Civilization has made mankind if not more bloodthirsty, at least more vilely, more loathsomely bloodthirsty. In old days he saw justice in bloodshed and with his conscience at peace exterminated those he thought proper. Now we do think bloodshed abominable and yet we engage in this abomination, and with more energy than ever. Which is worse?

Man everywhere and at all times, whoever he may be, has preferred to act as he chose and not in the least as his reason and advantage dictated. And one may choose what is contrary to one’s own interests, and sometimes one positively ought (that is my idea). One’s own free unfettered choice, one’s own caprice, however wild it may be, one’s own fancy worked up at times to frenzy⁠—is that very “most advantageous advantage” which we have overlooked, which comes under no classification and against which all systems and theories are continually being shattered to atoms… What man wants is simply independent choice, whatever that independence may cost and wherever it may lead. And choice, of course, the devil only knows what choice.

Man is a frivolous and incongruous creature, and perhaps, like a chess player, loves the process of the game, not the end of it… Perhaps the only goal on earth to which mankind is striving lies in this incessant process of attaining, in other words, in life itself, and not in the thing to be attained… Man does nothing but seek mathematical certainty, he traverses oceans, sacrifices his life in the quest, but to succeed, really to find it, he dreads, I assure you. He feels that when he has found it there will be nothing for him to look for.

Every man has memories which he would not tell to everyone, but only to his friends. He has other matters in his mind which he would not reveal even to his friends, but only to himself, and that in secret. But there are other things which a man is afraid to tell even to himself, and every decent man has a number of such things stored away in his mind. The more decent he is, the greater the number of such things in his mind.

Man is fond of reckoning up his troubles, but does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it.

Come, try, give anyone of us, for instance, a little more independence, untie our hands, widen the spheres of our activity, relax the control and we … yes, I assure you … we should be begging to be under control again at once.



From “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man” -

Their knowledge was gained and fostered by intuitions different from those of us on earth, and their aspirations, too, were quite different. They desired nothing and were at peace; they did not aspire to knowledge of life as we aspire to understand it, because their lives were full. But their knowledge was higher and deeper than ours; for our science seeks to explain what life is, aspires to understand it in order to teach others how to live, while they without science knew how to live; and that I understood, but I could not understand their knowledge.

But we have science, and by the means of it we shall find the truth and we shall arrive at it consciously. Knowledge is higher than feeling, the consciousness of life is higher than life. Science will give us wisdom, wisdom will reveal the laws, and the knowledge of the laws of happiness is higher than happiness.

[Ruairi Rossi · Rating 4 out of 5]

In one of the finest collections of his work, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s psychological genius is put on full display, showcasing the thematic elements of love, loneliness, cruelty, while questioning the framework of human relationships. The Barnes and Noble classic includes 5 of Dostoevsky’s best works, with multiple novellas such as Notes From The Underground, and The Double, 2 of his most impactful works. To go along with the 2 novellas, 3 of his famed short stories are included: White Nights, The Meek One, and The Dream Of A Ridiculous Man. Below is a short synopsis of each of the stories, avoiding all spoilers of course.
The Double is a novella about Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, a man who experiences a psychological demise after encountering his doppelgänger, who creates an unwanted presence in Golyadkin’s life, leading to a descent into madness.
Notes from the Underground is a novella told by an unnamed narrator, who spends life rejecting societal norms and rationalism, while embracing a life of isolation and anti-enlightenment.
White Nights follows a lonely man on his quest for love over a four night period, exploring the themes of lust, affection, heartbreak, and acceptance.
The Meek One is a diary-like recount of the struggles a man experiences throughout his marriage, revolving around themes of suffering and eventually, tragedy.
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is a very short story about a man’s lack of motivation to continue his life, and dives into themes around suicide, value, and hope.

I personally think that the compilation of novellas and short stories is a very unique and interesting read. Having heard of the psychological depth that Dostoevsky uses in his work, I was excited to try reading some of his work. Despite not being an avid reader (especially in regards to older books), I was pleasantly surprised throughout reading. Dostoevsky utilizes topics that in 19th century Russia, let alone today, are rare, such as in The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, where he talks about the ideas of self value and worth, which is an idea many are challenged with today. Although the ideas and concepts are deep and insightful, the text is confusing, which is not helped by it being translated from the Russian language. Nonetheless, a very interesting read which has had me considering digging deeper into his works. A few quotes from the readings that stood out to me were:

“So this is it, this is it at last—contact with real life!” (N.F.T.U, page 307, chapter V, part II)
“I cry the same, though I am not a hero, and no one answers my cry” (T.M.O, page 403)
“At this point destiny caught Mr Golyadkin: he had hardly felt this desire when his doubts were solved in the strangest and most unexpected manner” (T.D, page 55)

All of these quotes all have a certain uniqueness to them that I really like, especially the second one. Dostoevsky shows the value of societal importance within the quote, with the narrator not being heard, unlike the hero who screams him. A common idea of questioning societal norms is ever present throughout the many works of Fyodor Dostoevsky, most specifically in the 5 stories above.

I recommend to all who enjoy psychologically thrilling books, especially those familiar with Dostoevsky's works, or Russian authors of a similar type, such as Chekhov or Tolstoy. My review: 4.2/5.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

TH xqxxxxxxx
Didn't enjoy White nights as much as I probably should have purely because of how uncomfortable it was. Reminds me of situations that happen all to often as a result of idealization and the spoon feeding of young girls that they will get they're Prince Charming. She said that he was perfect in every way he just didn't quite live up to the standards set by the culture at that time. The Moral is really to never fall in love too fast, It can happen overnight, especially if it's your first, but you need restraint to protect yourself, stories like this are all-too common




The MeeK one Related to being with a girl like that. That moment where a typically cowardly man has no fear of the insane girl that will kill you, because he loves her too much. The Murder would be the highest form of sexuality for them to elevate to, but realizing that she couldn't follow through she dissolves into having no existential reason to be around >>> Nihhilism . She woke up with spontaneity and was bloody happy. she smiled to her handler. STARTED A cigarette roasted voracious of tobacco . she dropped to her deat fall from the flat window drained, t


I dont have other reviews and Im in a lot of ambien so lets say welll leave this as is

[Bob Dutch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Barnes and Noble edition is a great little collection of Dostoevsky's short stories and novellas that feel like short stories. Don't read the forward in advance, just keep in mind that the main character is always a narcissist.

The Double: One of Dosto's earlier works, featuring Kafkaesque magical realism before Kafkaesque was a thing. Unusual narrative style. I should have read Gogol's books first, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story. 5/5

White Nights: If you told my past self that I'd enjoy a tragic Russian story about unrequited love this much, I would have laughed in your face. 5/5

Notes from the Underground: I hope I'm not the only person on the planet who didn't care for this one, the opening line gives me chills, but the rest of it is mostly just a series of vaguely comical awkward moments. One of Dosto's weaker works. 2/5.

The Meek One: I'm noticing a pattern here with having a Western Education and personal tragedy, it's almost as dangerous as being a government clerk. 4/5

The Dreams of a Ridiculous Man: I'm glad the narrator learned the true meaning of Christmas or whatever, but this was just silly. 1/5

[Cinnamon Whaley · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Though I understood their words I could never fathom their full significance." pg 378

Full pages of word soup. There are no likeable characters in any of these stories, they could nearly all be the same main character with some varying degree of madness. By the time I arrived at the final story, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, I felt that this was told by the most sane, least rambling character, with the most straightforward storyline. But if I started with this one, I would have thought it written by a rambling madman and would have found it almost unreadable. Interestingly, now flipping back through The Double, I find it less rambling, less annoying than when I first picked up the book. I traveled up a rollercoaster of rambling annoyance through the first three stories and found The Meek One and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man more enjoyable simply because it was not as word soupy as the first three. I did not enjoy any of these stories, or the prose in which they were written.

[John Sperling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just having finished Notes from Underground, I write this brief review. Dostoevsky has a talent for descending into and exploring the abyss. What a life he must have led! I felt a bit sick reading Underground, because of the ways in which the anti-hero debases himself, allowing himself to descend under the crushing weight of social rejection and failed relationships; trapped in models of his own creation, transparent and boundless...then I wonder whether or not this is, in fact, one of the defining features of human consciousness. "It is fascinating." "It is incredible." These are trifles. Anyone curious about the human condition should read this book.

While reading The Double, I quickly tired of Doestoevsky's constant reference to the hero as "our hero", and I did not finish the story. I just skimmed A Gentle Creature, but it appears to venture as deeply into the unknown abyss of human relations as anything Dostoevsky has written.

White Nights is a tragedy of everyday proportions. Overly dramatic, perhaps, but I felt the consequences of the protagonist's self-doubt as heavily as a ton of bricks. He loved N., and his love was somehow simultaneously requited and unrequited and yet, as is the case when a negative is multiplied by a positive, the outcome remains negative.

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man contains invaluable moral lessons and has strong parallels with Dickens.

[Cypress Butane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread this, this is a good translation compared to a couple others I looked at. This book is an important one for the sheer mass of human complexity it covers, and in a compressed way. The paradoxical character of the underground man is a comment on the human condition as it relates to enlightenment ideals which strive to create a perfect civilization, a dream utopia. Not all social engineer type "gentlemen" seem to consider the emotional and irrational nature at the heart of mankind. Dostoevsky makes clear the issues in both character's monologue, then again in the mirror of the character's actions in dramatized action in the second half. And the paradoxes again are exposed in the contrasts betwixt what the underground man tells himself and how he acts. This book has much to teach us in the 21st century.

[Andrew Weitzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection. Notes from Underground makes up the bulk of it, and although I had already that story, it was worth revisiting. White Nights is great and is like a happier version of Chekov's The Kiss (which was written 40 years later). The Double, The Meek One, and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man are all tales of psychological suffering, with The Double being very dark and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man having a much nicer message.

Great variety of stories; all winners. Although I suggest this not be your first exposure to Dostoevsky, as you'd be better off starting with Crime and Punishment or The Idiot.

[In the Name of Freedom · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are five of Dostoyevsky's stories in this collection: The Double, White Nights, Notes from Underground, The Meek One, and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man- all of which take place in St. Petersburg. Skip to end for an overview and the general conclusions.

-The Double-
The first story included in the book (My edition at least) was probably my least favorite of the five. It tells the story of a lonely titular councilor named Mr. Golyadkin, who has gone mad. This is one of few stories by Dostoyevsky which are written in the third person. I've read somewhere online this story was inspired by another story written either by Gogol or Pushkin (not sure which author or what story). The Double is funny and also frustrating due to the unique perspective, but it was not as thought provoking or emotionally stirring as the other stories in this collection. It unfortunately is also the longest of the five stories, standing at approximately 150 pages (to be clear I'm frustrated the story was long when it could've been about half the length it was, and if it was a masterpiece I wouldn't care if it was 150 pages)

Rating:
2.5/5 stars

-White Nights-
In the winter of St. Petersburg, after many have retreated south to their winter homes, a hopeless dreamer (the unnamed narrator/protagonist) walks along an embankment as white snow falls slowly to the ground. On this fateful night, he meets a woman standing alone, who at first avoids him, until he is allowed the opportunity to escort her home. On this walk he has already fallen in love with her, even though he has only known her for a brief time. This story was my favorite in this collection. It has a very predictable but classic ending, and is only about 50-60 pages long.

Rating:
5/5 stars

-Notes from Underground-
Most readers manage to get through part 1 of this story will want to be defenestrated off the 100th floor of the empire state building. The narrator of this story known as the "underground man" has long ago cut all ties to society . He has retreated to the Underground, which he describes as miserable yet wonderful (one example of his many contradictions). He is a spiteful nihilist and masochist, who is disgusted by people who act because they have strong beliefs. From his perspective, someone is only truly intelligent because they know they cannot act. He hates the world and himself and longs to be of the kind "who act", yet he knows he is better than these people and that makes himself proud. Part 1 of this story is somewhat of a rant on the nature of being, while part 2 is a story of himself in his youth, before he collected his inheritance and quit his job. The second portion of the story is equally if not more depressing than the first, but thank god it is not written as a rant from the underground. Overall I liked the story not because I agree with it, but because it made me think. (I also recommend reading an accompanying analysis after each chapter or section, I used SparkNotes which gave me even more to think about)

Rating:
As much as I hated reading this, I reluctantly give it 4.5/5 stars (amazing story but the beginning rant is unbearable, probably a result of the mixture of my optimism and the terrible style of the underground man who constantly lies and contradicts himself)

-The Meek One-
This story is about the relationship between a pawnbroker and a young girl (16 years old I believe) who is selling away many treasured items of hers due to extreme poverty. The pawnbroker takes pity on her, and eventually asks for her hand in marriage. After some consideration, she accepts, but soon their relationship starts to spiral downwards. This story was from the perspective of the pawnbroker. He seemed to occasionally understand his wife very well, and other times not so well. On the first page it is made known to the reader that his wife jumped from a window and killed herself. It's a tragic story which is made even more so by their strained relationship and by the pawnbroker's inability to read her emotions.

Rating 5/5 stars

-The Dream of a Ridiculous Man-
This story is about a lonely and nihilistic man who has decided he is going to kill himself. He purchased a revolver a month before with his little remaining money and each night he has delayed. On the night of the story, he falls asleep in his room before getting into bed (which rarely happens) and has a profound dream, which impacts his view on life. Overall the story was decent, I did not like the dream very much and thought that it was a little unbelievable. This may be an unpopular opinion as I'm not sure if this story is well liked. It was also extremely short at only 20 pages long.

Rating 3/5 (I'm willing to change the rating if someone disagreed with my analysis or explained something I missed, but at the moment I found the story somewhat unremarkable)

Overview and General Conclusions:
After combining the individual ratings, the collective score is 20/25 stars, or 4/5 stars (how convenient! this was unintentional lol). If you haven't read any other Dostoyevsky, it may not be best to start here. So far I have only read Crime and Punishment, but that felt like a much better place to start. A major theme which appears in many of Dostoyevsky's works is the lonely St. Petersburg man, who is influenced by middle to late 19th century ideas (I guess Russia had a later enlightenment than the rest of Europe). If you are interested in this and if you love psychology, no doubt you will enjoy this collection of stories :).


I believe this quote was in the back of my copy of the book:

"Dostoevsky, the only psychologist from whom I've anything to learn."
― Friedrich Nietzsche

[Alan Marchant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is a collection of Dostoevsky novellas, curated and interpreted by Deborah Martinsen, a self-appointed expert in the psychology of narcissism and shame. Her introduction morphs Dostoevsky into a psychologist and the novellas into proof of her amateur theories.

My rating for this collection applies to the stories themselves. Although they are not masterpieces, still they are satisfying examples of Dostoevsky's mastery of characterization applied to the Russian intellectual type. Just skip the intro and enjoy the stories, particularly the entertaining "Notes from the Underground" and "The Double," which is the unmistakeable predecessor to Kafka's "The Metamorphosis."

[Johnathan Campana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes from Underground: Really interesting stream of consciousness from a lonely and depressed narrator. He prides himself on being literary, bookish, clever, etc. but he is afraid of reality. Some parts were easy to relate to as somebody who reads a lot and tends to over-intellectualize things, but the Underground man lives in a world of neurotic self-reflection, completely divorced from reality. The transcription of unfiltered thoughts makes for really deep character development of the one character who's thinking we read. Would recommend for interesting content and themes, but also just because the writing style makes it unlike anything else I've read.