Listen to Notes from Underground Free Audiobook
By Fyodor Dostoevsky

Audiobook Summary-

Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground is a gripping philosophical novel that delves into the themes of existentialism, free will, and human irrationality through the narrative voice of a disillusioned protagonist. The tale is presented in two parts and narrated by a retired civil servant who is not named and commonly known as the Underground Man. In part one, he delivers a monologue that disparages the virtues of rationalism, utopianism, and the assumption that human actions can be logically forecasted. According to him, human beings are irrational and will tend to go against their interests just to assert their independence. The second half of the novel tells particular anecdotes from the past of the Underground Man that detail his emotional alienation and suicidal impulses. He reminisces about a dinner party with old schoolmates, an unsuccessful attempt to connect with them, and an agonizing meeting with a teenage prostitute named Liza. His failure to make real connections or resolve his inner contradictions speaks to the richness of the human mind. Dostoevsky employs this highly introspective tale to analyze such themes as alienation, pride, and moral struggle. Notes from Underground continues to stand as an influential work in psychological literature and a foundational text in contemporary existential theory.