Notes from the Underground

With an Introduction and Notes by David Rampton, Department of English, University of Ottowa. 'Notes from Underground and Other Stories' is a comprehensive collection of Dostoevsky's short fiction. Many of these stories, like his great novels, reveal his special sympathy for the solitary and dispossessed, explore the same complex psychological issues and subtly combine rich characterisation and philosophical meditations on the (often) dark areas of the human psyche, all conveyed in an idiosyncratic blend of deadly seriousness and wild humour. In 'Notes from Underground', the Underground Man casually dismantles utilitarianism and celebrates in its stead a perverse but vibrant masochism. 'A Christmas Tree and a Wedding' recounts the successful pursuit of a young girl by a lecherous old man. In 'Bobok', one Ivan Ivanovitch listens in on corpses gossiping in a cemetery and ends up deploring their depravity. In 'A Gentle Spirit', the narrator describes his dawning recognition that he is responsible for his wife's suicide. In short, as a commentator on spiritual stagnation, Dostoevsky has no equal. AUTHOR: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) is a Russian novelist. Of his eleven novels, his three most famous were written later in life: 'Crime and Punishment', 'The Idiot' and 'The Brothers Karamazov'. His books have been translated into over 170 languages, and have sold over 15 million copies.