Product Description

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)

Dostoevsky’s most revolutionary novel, Notes from Underground marks the dividing line between nineteenth- and twentieth-century fiction, and between the visions of self each century embodied. One of the most remarkable characters in literature, the unnamed narrator is a former official who has defiantly withdrawn into an underground existence. In full retreat from society, he scrawls a passionate, obsessive, self-contradictory narrative that serves as a devastating attack on social utopianism and an assertion of man’s essentially irrational nature.

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, whose Dostoevsky translations have become the standard, give us a brilliantly faithful edition of this classic novel, conveying all the tragedy and tormented comedy of the original.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23341 in Books
• Published on: 1994-08-30
• Released on: 1994-08-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

From AudioFile
Recorded Books has done it again. This production of Dostoevsky's work is stark, dark and eerie. On the surface the story of one man's rant against a corrupt, oppressive society, this philosophical book explores the deeper themes of alienation, torment and hatred. George Guidall's expert reading allows us to hear the anger and distrust in Dostoevsky's character but also gives the listener room for interpretation. While Guidall's voice isn't overpowering, the venom and despair of the character are completely credible. The production is leanÐone voice, one microphone. The effect is intelligent, resourceful and effective. R.I.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
Praise for previous translations by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, winners of the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Prize

The Brothers Karamazov
“One finally gets the musical whole of Dostoevsky’s original.” –New York Times Book Review

“It may well be that Dostoevsky’s [world], with all its resourceful energies of life and language, is only now–and through the medium of [this] new translation–beginning to come home to the English-speaking reader.” –New York Review of Books

Crime and Punishment
“The best [translation] currently available…An especially faithful re-creation…with a coiled-spring kinetic energy… Don’t miss it.” –Washington Post Book World

“Reaches as close to Dostoevsky’s Russian as is possible in English…The original’s force and frightening immediacy is captured…The Pevear and Volokhonsky translation will become the standard version.” –Chicago Tribune

Demons
“The merit in this edition of Demons resides in the technical virtuosity of the translators…They capture the feverishly intense, personal explosions of activity and emotion that manifest themselves in Russian life.” –New York Times Book Review

“[Pevear and Volokhonsky] have managed to capture and differentiate the characters’ many voices…They come into their own when faced with Dostoevsky’s wonderfully quirky use of varied speech patterns…A capital job of restoration.” –Los Angeles Times

With an Introduction by Richard Pevear


From the Hardcover edition.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

Customer Reviews

Read it in context for a better understanding...
Those who read this book should know that it was intended as a parody, a satirical and scathing attack on the prevailing trends in popular philosophy and literature in Russia (Saint Petersburg literary society) in the day (1860's), in which a hasty utilitarianism and egalitarianism were prominent... This book includes several indirect references to, and parodies of some of Dostoevsky's literary rivals and their often empty and poorly thought-out ideological systems and "Utopias"... to really understand these (often quite subtle) undercurrents, I humbly suggest that those REALLY interested check out Joseph Frank's biography of Dostoevsky, which includes a great deal of discussion of all of his works (vol. 3 Chap. 21 is completely devoted to a detailed examination of "Notes from Underground"...), and, importantly, gives a solid historical context in which to fit them... also, if you have the Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation (or intend to get it), read the introduction. It's a good introduction and helps to explain a lot of this. When read with a little understanding of this context, though quite short, this is really a very rich (and funny) book...

Basically, don't take everything the "Underground Man" says literally. many of his absurd expressions are deliberate perversions of popular maxims and attitudes of the time, taking the fashionable new philosophies of "science" to their final conclusions... This book is a defense of Free Will and real Humanity...

The epitome of the alienated, under-appreciated intellectual
In this book, Dostoyevsky presents a character that is self-possessed, vain, subject to bouts of depressive arrogance, yet seems to be looking for some good to do. He recognizes many of his faults, yet is convinced that they are merely character traits. He lives in poverty, yet has a servant that he treats in a petty and poor way, even though the servant is clearly his moral superior.
The character voluntarily associates with vain and simple men, simply for the opportunity to feel intellectually superior. When slighted, he pouts uncontrollably, talking about a duel with one where he openly states he will fire into the air and give the man the opportunity to kill him.
Continuing his fit of self-centered pique, he visits a young prostitute and treats her as a person. He learns that she was sold into prostitution and has a medical student boyfriend He talks to her and adopts the attitude of someone who will rescue her, giving her his address. However, when she arrives at his residence, he is cruel, telling her that he was only ridiculing her when he was apparently giving her the offer of aid. After he does this, he collapses in tears on the sofa and she holds and comforts him.
I read, "Crime and Punishment" several years ago, so I recognized many of the character traits so prominent in that novel. "Notes From the Underground" was written before his greatest novels yet you see that same very alienated person who has simultaneously adopted the air of complete superiority inextricably bound with feelings of hopelessness and self-loathing. It is a difficult story to read.

"I am a sick man..."
Dostoyevsky led a troubled life and struggled with the questions of suffering and the meaning of life. The opening line of Notes From Underground sums it up, "I am a sick man..." Underground is difficult reading, especially for such a short book. It is all over the place with many different streams of consciousness. It appears to be very autobiographical and this is what was the most value to me. If you are a fan of Dostoyevsky, this is essential reading, because it will give you insight into the man and help you understand his more popular works better. The short story "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man," also significantly contributes to an understanding of the man.

On a side note, the included short stories "White Nights" and selections from "The House of the Dead," were interesting stories that can stand on their own.

In short, this is recommended for fans of Dostoyevsky, but the average reader might want to avoid.