Notes From the Underground

Notes from Underground is an 1864 novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky, presented as the memoir of a bitter, isolated, and unnamed former civil servant, often called the "Underground Man". The book is divided into two parts: the first is a philosophical monologue critiquing society, rationalism, and humanity's irrational nature, while the second part recounts a series of humiliating and self-destructive interactions from his past. It is considered one of the first existentialist novels and explores themes of alienation, free will, and the psychological complexity of the human psyche.