Book review: Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Some books don’t ask to be read—they dare you. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is one of those books. From the first few pages, I felt as though I had been drawn into the mind of someone unraveling before me, and I couldn’t look away. It’s not an easy read, but it’s an unforgettable one.

Written in 1864, Notes from Underground is a novella that straddles the boundary between philosophical fiction and psychological drama. It is often cited as one of the earliest and most important existentialist texts. Dostoyevsky’s work is clearly aimed at readers who are prepared to engage with abstract ideas, moral paradoxes, and the complexities of human consciousness. The book is set in St. Petersburg and divided into two parts. In the first, the unnamed narrator—often referred to simply as the Underground Man—delivers a disjointed and impassioned monologue from the depths of his emotional and intellectual isolation. He attacks ideas of rational progress and social idealism with bitterness and irony. In the second part, the narrative shifts to a few fragmented episodes from his life, revealing failed relationships, humiliation, and a stubborn insistence on suffering as a form of identity.

Dostoyevsky’s language, as translated, is sharp, caustic, and intensely personal. It feels less like reading a book and more like overhearing a confession not meant for anyone. The prose is dense at times, but it pulses with life—angry, sarcastic, despairing, and occasionally tender. Structurally, the novella is unorthodox. The first part reads like an essay or rant, lacking traditional plot or narrative flow. The second part provides more conventional storytelling, though even this is fragmented and filtered through the narrator’s deeply unreliable lens. There’s no attempt to create a neat or likable character, and that’s exactly the point. Dostoyevsky’s aim is to dissect the contradictions of the human soul—our capacity for self-sabotage, our need to assert free will even against our own interests, and our fear of both meaning and meaninglessness.

The themes explored here are profound and unsettling. The Underground Man is not simply a misanthrope or recluse—he is a mirror for the reader, a man who has stripped away all social pretense and finds no comfort in what remains. His rejection of utopian ideals and logical determinism was radical for its time and remains fiercely relevant. That said, the book is not for everyone. Its lack of plot, its relentless introspection, and its unflinching portrayal of psychological decay can be alienating. But for readers willing to confront that discomfort, it offers a rare kind of honesty—an unvarnished look at the darker corridors of human thought.

What impressed me most was the sheer courage of the text. Dostoyevsky doesn’t guide the reader with moral lessons or narrative resolution. Instead, he throws us into the chaos of one man’s fractured mind and invites us to ask difficult questions: What does it mean to be free? Why do we act against our best interests? Is there dignity in suffering, or only futility? The emotional impact was unlike anything I’ve read—it left me unsettled, reflective, and strangely moved.

So, Notes from Underground is a brilliant, disturbing, and intellectually exhilarating exploration of human contradiction. I would recommend it to readers drawn to existential questions, introspective narratives, or the darker edges of literary fiction. A challenging but essential work that still feels provocatively modern.

This book review was written using the following references 👇

• Full text Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky at LitArchive
• Audiobook Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky at AudioReads