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A review by louiza_read2live
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
5.0
I have a love-hate relationship with this book; I loved reading it, but at times the hatred, cynisism, egotism, and overall appaling mental state of the man of the underground made me to want to take a break as it evoked emotions of disgust for his character and it made my soul feel tired.
I had read it again years ago and I did remember how brilliant it is, but I didn't remember how difficult it is. Even though now I'm fluent in English so I had thought it would be easier to read it, it was as difficult to read as ever. 130 pages is equivalent to a 300 page book because of the difficulty of its concepts.
I have this great book Lectures on Russian Literatures by Vladimir Nabokov who was a harsh critic of Dostoyevsky -- He didn't like any of his works other than his first one, I believe "The Double." After "Notes from Underground," I've read Nabokov's lecture "Memoirs from a Mousehole," which is Nabokov's preferred title. Nabokov critisizes as "stupidly incorrect title" the well known English translated title, "Notes from Underground," and he writes that the book title should have been translated as either "Memoirs from Under the Floor" or "Memoirs from a Mousehole." (Pg. 115).
In this lecture, Nabokov once again attacks Dostoyevsky's writing style, as too general and lacking specifics, "repetitious" and "sentimental" with "a very garullous and very poor" dialogue. Furthermore, he accuses Dostoyevsky for "pathological hatred of Germans, Poles, and Jews."
Although Dostoyevsky has been one of my favorite writers, I find Nabokov's criticism interesting and worth considering.
From reading the introduction on "Notes from Underground" and some other things online, I found this fascinating fact:
Turgenev wrote "Fathers and Sons."
Chernyshevsky responded to "Fathers and Sons" by writing, "What Is It to Be Done?"
And Dostoyevsky with his "Notes from Underground," or "Notes from a Mousehole" as Nabokov suggests, responds to many ideas Chernyshevsky expressed in the "What is it to be Done?"
I think it will be interesting to one day read these books in that order, and that will probably bring new light and insight to Dostoyevsky's work, making it easier to understand what he was thinking when he was creating the man of the underground who has come to be known as the greatest anti-hero in world literature.
Dispite all his sick mind, however, the man of the underground is right on this: "[...] man only likes counting his grief, he doesn't count his happiness. But if he were to count properly, he'd see that there's enough of both lots for him." (Notes from Underground, 96).
I had read it again years ago and I did remember how brilliant it is, but I didn't remember how difficult it is. Even though now I'm fluent in English so I had thought it would be easier to read it, it was as difficult to read as ever. 130 pages is equivalent to a 300 page book because of the difficulty of its concepts.
I have this great book Lectures on Russian Literatures by Vladimir Nabokov who was a harsh critic of Dostoyevsky -- He didn't like any of his works other than his first one, I believe "The Double." After "Notes from Underground," I've read Nabokov's lecture "Memoirs from a Mousehole," which is Nabokov's preferred title. Nabokov critisizes as "stupidly incorrect title" the well known English translated title, "Notes from Underground," and he writes that the book title should have been translated as either "Memoirs from Under the Floor" or "Memoirs from a Mousehole." (Pg. 115).
In this lecture, Nabokov once again attacks Dostoyevsky's writing style, as too general and lacking specifics, "repetitious" and "sentimental" with "a very garullous and very poor" dialogue. Furthermore, he accuses Dostoyevsky for "pathological hatred of Germans, Poles, and Jews."
Although Dostoyevsky has been one of my favorite writers, I find Nabokov's criticism interesting and worth considering.
From reading the introduction on "Notes from Underground" and some other things online, I found this fascinating fact:
Turgenev wrote "Fathers and Sons."
Chernyshevsky responded to "Fathers and Sons" by writing, "What Is It to Be Done?"
And Dostoyevsky with his "Notes from Underground," or "Notes from a Mousehole" as Nabokov suggests, responds to many ideas Chernyshevsky expressed in the "What is it to be Done?"
I think it will be interesting to one day read these books in that order, and that will probably bring new light and insight to Dostoyevsky's work, making it easier to understand what he was thinking when he was creating the man of the underground who has come to be known as the greatest anti-hero in world literature.
Dispite all his sick mind, however, the man of the underground is right on this: "[...] man only likes counting his grief, he doesn't count his happiness. But if he were to count properly, he'd see that there's enough of both lots for him." (Notes from Underground, 96).