Bitter and unpleasant, the Underground Man lives alone in St. Petersburg. After working in the civil service for many years, he decides to write an account of his opinions on society as they have been shaped by his ordinary life. Although he is insightful and educated, the Underground Man's ability and cunning have left him with an intense loathing of mankind, which he sets out to preserve in his manuscript.

In this two part novella, author Fyodor Dostoyevsky presents an opinion of man as an irrational and impossible being, always seeking satisfaction in the institutions of society yet without any hope for success. Notes from the Underground is considered by many to be the first example of existential fiction in which philosophy is presented from an individualized and highly humanized perspective.

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