Reddit mentions of Notes From Underground

Dostojewski - Notes From The Underground ( this exact translation)

yes really. This is nothing like Iwan Ilych or such. THIS is genius! Read it !

starts with:

> I am a sick man... I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I believe my liver is diseased

​

one of the best books you will ever read, I promise you.

(mind the translation. In the first line it needs to say ''spiteful man'' not ''angry man'' this is important for the rest of the book)

>is it psychology within the characters like you mentioned in your comment? or is it about humans beings collectively? or Russians individually?

All of the above and more, I suppose. Dostoevsky writes about the human condition. His works contain penetrating commentary on human interaction and the way people view themselves, as well as commentary on politics and art at the time and society as a whole. He's considered a proto-existentialist because he dealt with the inherent meaninglessness of life and attempted to counter the nihilism that was becoming popular among the youth of his time (this is a lazy overview, but this comment is going to be long enough without me reviewing the guy's whole career). It's worth reading a little about Dostoevsky's life and times to understand some of what he's talking about, but all the interpersonal interaction is still completely relevant and understandable today. Times change, people really don't.

I think a lot of people get turned off by Dostoevsky because they try to start with one of his longer, later novels, usually "C & P" or "The Brothers Karamazov". I honestly don't think those are good places to start. They're a lot denser and his writing follows a natural progression that I think is undermined if one start at the end.

I always recommend starting with "Notes From Underground", which is much shorter and more concentrated. It's a great example of the way Dostoevsky thinks and writes, so you'll know off the bat if you'd like to dig into his other stories or "great novels". In response to what you should expect from Dostoevsky.. I'm not really sure how to answer that, but one way would be to point to "Notes" and say "That general sort of thing". Mirra Ginsberg does a great translation of Notes From Underground that can be picked up super cheap. It's my favorite translation (possibly because it was the first version I read and what made me fall in love with his writing). It also provides helpful notes that put some of what he mentions into historical context.

After that I'd suggest a collection of his best short stories. If you still love him after that (I certainly do) then you're probably ready to move on to the complex psychological mind fucks that are his great novels. Some other good short story collections by him are "The Eternal Husband" and "The Double/The Gambler" both translated by Pevear/Volokhonsky.

As far as his novels go, I always recommend starting with "The Idiot", which I like the most out of his "great novels" (followed by "The Devils/Demons", "Crime and Punishment" then Brothers K). The novels are completely different animals. They can take a long time to set up and some aspects can seem boring to people who aren't used to his style, but the pay off is well worth it in my mind. If you have questions about a specific work I'll be happy to talk about it, but I don't want to bore you with descriptions of all his novels.

These are, of course, just my suggestions, but after turning on a few friends to Fyodor D., I think it's a good recipe for getting into him, and getting what he's all about without being intimidated/bored/discouraged.

I really think that the most important factor with Dostoevsky is the translation you read. The quality/style of a translation can make all the difference. I highly recommend Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky or David Magarshack. It's a good idea to be kind of wary when buying old copies because they might have poor or outdated translations.

Constance Garnett is the most common translator because her translations are in the public domain. Though she deserves credit for being an awesome individual and making Russian literature more available in the west... she is well known for leaving things out, making mistakes, and changing things to better suit Victorian sensibilities. I started reading her stuff, and was shocked when I found those other translators and read about a lot of the problems with her versions. Some of his stories that I thought were dry or boring ended up being my favorites when I read a better translation.

Great, I'll keep an eye out for a submission from you. I plan on posting my story here when it's finished, and I might post it more of it as I write for more critiques/comments.

I've friended and I'll make it a point to let you know when I post more. It might be awhile, because I rarely have my free time coincide with the inspiration to write.

I don't know how much Gogol you're familiar with, but his stories "Diary of a Madman" "The Portrait and "The Nose" are all really great as well. I highly recommend this collection/translation of his short stories.

Also, if you're not familiar with Dostoevsky, I suggest starting with Notes From Underground. It's really short and is a pretty good introduction to his style and the issues he deals with in his other works.

The Double is great, but like I said it's actually not like most of his other stuff (at least in style).