The Idiot and Notes from the Underground

The Idiot and Notes from the Underground. I’m only doing these two together for the sake of time. These two are different from each other in that The Idiot functions more on it’s social commentary while Notes from the Underground thrives in being a first-person narration of political commentary. Though they both share the theme of Russian sovereignty and Russian Conservatism, they are diametrically opposite stories. 

The Idiot is a very long story about a prince, Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, who’s good and naive nature lead many to believe he is an idiot. This novel was an experiment in that Dostoevsky often didn’t know where the plot was going while he was writing. When you read it, it will be very disorganized and drawn out. I will admit there are interesting parts of his commentary; in Chapter 6 of Part 3 there is a section where he draws from his prison term to talk about the impact of an icon of Christ. In Chapter 7 of Part 4, he provides an excellent response to the claim of Catholicism’s influence on Socialism. Though this book has its beautiful moments, it is very disorganized and discombobulated. But I would still encourage you to read it. 


Notes from the Underground was excellent. It’s broken into two parts – though it’s made clear that this is written as an excerpt by the narrator, the underground man. Its commentary contains familiar themes related to the desire for Utopia. The Underground Man makes the point that suffering and pain are what make men free and to remove them would remove their freedom. Another major theme is the critique of determinism, which the Underground Man argues is a flawed attitude since men and women can act outside their own self interest. There’s a lot to unpack in this story, but it is a fascinating read. 


Both these books are available on Hoopla. 


My next book is The Adolescent.

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