Notes from Underground and The Gambler

Written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Narrated by Nicholas Boulton

Considered one of the first existentialist novels, Notes from Underground contains one of the most unsettling characters in 19th-century fiction. Resentful, cruel, entitled and pitiful, Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man is a disturbing human being bent on humiliating others for his own amusement. He despises modern society and stews in a self-imposed misery, articulated through his bitter, contradictory monologues about torment and alienation. The Gambler is perhaps the most personal of Dostoyevsky’s novels. Written to pay off the author’s own gambling debts, the book follows the obsessions and anxieties of Alexey Ivanovitch, a sympathetic character who has given in to the forces of addiction. His despair is compounded by his love for the enigmatic Polina Alexandrovna, a cold and distant figure who exploits his desperation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Jan 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781781982020

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian novelist and philosopher whose works examined the human psyche of the nineteenth century. Dostoyevsky is considered one of the greatest writers in world literature, with titles such as Crime and Punishment; Notes from Underground, one of the first existential novellas ever written; and Poor Folk, Russia’s first “social novel.”

Reviews for Notes from Underground and The Gambler

[Orly Arcelao · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Best audiobook I have ever heard for this Dostoevsky title. The performance of the narrator is exquisite!

[RocioAnahi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ufff... What a philosopher Dostoievski is. Besides an impeccable prose that one reads and rereads for the simple beauty of its composition, this book is a deep exploration of human psychology.
Of its narrative richness, I will only say that despite its dense style, the nuances accompany the argument, providing an oppressive and alienated setting that unites the story with its writing style.
Argumentatively, it is a harsh metaphor that addresses social exclusion and contempt, ultimately resulting in the emptiness of existential loneliness. (Translated from Spanish)

[francopineda · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is one of the best works of Dostoevsky, but it should be read in context to appreciate all its richness. I recommend the Colihue edition, which includes an excellent introductory study. (Translated from Spanish)

[diegogt0 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Narration at the beginning is somewhat neurotic, with philosophical paraphrasing everywhere. (Translated from Spanish)

[AraceliCamusso · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It made me go through too many emotions, I just finished it, but I still don’t know how to describe it. (Translated from Spanish)

[RodolfodeJess · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dostoevsky takes us to those places in the mind that we are afraid to enter, because we do not know what inhabits there; the memories stored there often need to come out and express themselves, otherwise, those very memories can end up destroying us. (Translated from Spanish)

[Yubiwa70 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The worst part is that it always manages to make us see ourselves reflected, even in this miserable being, in its passion for causing harm and suffering the agony of remorse, of shame. It anticipates the best of Crime and Punishment, the desperate and exasperating delirium of a poor devil consumed by pain, misery, the torment of imagination, the extreme sickly sensitivity. And yet, who hasn’t looked at themselves with sincerity and seen the misery within, waiting to emerge for no reason, just to see what happens? It's true that the first part is more complicated, tangled, but it foreshadows the delirious narrative of the second, without which it might lose depth. (Translated from Spanish)

[DavidSabilln · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Like all of Dostoevsky's books, it does not leave its readers indifferent. This exceptional internal monologue throughout the book makes it different from his other works. I really liked this book a lot. (Translated from Spanish)

[LeCronopio · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Eventually, one comes to experience a total contact (which, in this case, could probably subdue a negative stance as an individual towards the world) with a work in the search for this. It must, inevitably, happen at some point. For someone who feels a divorce from the world, who looks almost sickly with disdain at the insignificant man, an ideal example in the mechanism of a pathetic society, this work of Dostoyevsky will constitute a kind of invaluable inner dialogue with a self that has always inhabited some other corner, in some other time, tacitly validating its presence in an intellectual superiority that pragmatically amounts to nothing, but that must be made to mean something greater; a kind of catharsis and a slap of paradoxical pride and humility simultaneously, a necessary contact for the individual whom Dostoyevsky and Nietzsche have called. (Translated from Spanish)

[Arcadio · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first part has seemed somewhat tedious to me, a mixture of philosophical theories about the human condition. In the second part, the novel picks up; we move from theory to practice: the narrative of the protagonist's coexistence with hatred. It is a grim and disastrous soliloquy in which a misanthropic and desperate character speaks, one who does not want to be alone or accompanied. An asocial, unhappy being, whose feeling of inferiority overwhelms and prevents him from feeling love or friendship in an ordinary way. (Translated from Spanish)

[Alfredic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Man fears death because he loves life."

"It is better to be wrong following your own path than to be right following another's path." "On our planet, we can only love by suffering and through pain. We do not know how to love in any other way nor do we know any other kind of love."

"At that time I was twenty-four years old, but even then I had a gloomy, disorganized, solitary existence like that of a savage." (Translated from Spanish)

[Gemmaseas · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"Notes from Underground" is a detailed psychological portrait of an anonymous civil servant who is led by the vilest thoughts and attitudes. He despises people and is incapable of having a good or humble sentiment. He is almost a reflection of an increasingly sick and materialistic society in which we live, almost psychopathic in nature, where each person seeks their personal satisfaction without caring about others. Or rather, with the intention of causing annoyance if possible, making the other miserable in order to be happy himself. Unfortunately, we know people like this, and that is why the book deeply moved me, and I wanted it to end as soon as possible. (Translated from Spanish)

[vikis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book by Dostoevsky surprised me in a good way. Dark, intimate, profound. (Translated from Spanish)

[PedroGmezMartn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With "Notes from Underground," Fyodor Dostoevsky begins a second stage in his writing, moving from the Russian social novel "Poor Folk" to the novel of ideas to delve into the human condition within the complex political-social context of 19th century Russian society.

Like all Russian novels from the 19th century, its writing is dense and sometimes slow. However, this short novel is essential reading for the strength of the main character if one wishes to deepen their understanding of other more famous works by the author such as "Crime and Punishment," "The Brothers Karamazov," "The Idiot," or "Demons." (Translated from Spanish)

[GustavoEspada · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Notes from Underground was written when Dostoevsky's first wife was dying. It is considered a psychological novel due to its intense introspection. The "underground man" is a person approaching middle age who recalls a fateful event in his life. It is set in tsarist Russia where bureaucratic positions define people. He harbors a deadly hatred for himself. Even with the opening lines of the book: "I am a sick man... A wicked man," it shows how the stark story unfolds in the best Dostoevskian style. (Translated from Spanish)

[Chesterfield · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful allegory of social resentment, justified or not. I think we all have something of the protagonist in us. I liked it very much, and it seems to have been written yesterday. (Translated from Spanish)

[JPMedina · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you are about to read Dostoevsky and this book falls into your hands, do not expect a precise plot that moves from one point to another.

Notes from Underground could be considered, in some way, a furious monologue. It is protest and desire and envy; it is a man who can speak to no one but himself about the world around him.

The outpouring that Dostoevsky's character presents in the novel borders on the despicable. And yet, we cannot help but feel empathy for him, shock, and even pity.

A great work full of pain and punches against the wall. (Translated from Spanish)