Notes from Underground

More about the book

The narrative centers on an unnamed civil servant, known as the Underground Man, who reflects on his profound isolation in St. Petersburg. This seminal work is one of the first existentialist novels, challenging contemporary ideologies such as nihilism and utopianism. Through the Underground Man's perspective, Dostoevsky critiques the limitations of idealized rationality in utopian visions, emphasizing the inherent irrationality of human nature. The novel's profound themes have significantly influenced later writers and philosophers, including Kafka and Nietzsche.