Notes from Underground

Notes from the Underground is celebrated as the first existentialist novel; it is the starting point for the sense of meaninglessness that runs through much of twentieth-century writing, including that of Kafka and Beckett. Dostoevsky's most revolutionary work is comprised of the rambling memories of a bitter unnamed narrator who has withdrawn entirely from society into an underground existence. It is a probing and speculative analysis of the political and philosophical questions that were pertinent in Russia and Europe at the time. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow. He spent four years in prison, after being convicted for his involvement in a progressive discussion group, and in later years his passion for gambling led him into deep debt and he was forced to beg for money. Both Joyce and Hemingway cite Dostoyevsky as a major influence. Ripe for a revival, the influence of Notes From Underground looms large over a myriad of pop culture masterpieces, including Kafka's Metamorphosis, Scorcese's Taxi Driver, and the canon of Woody Allen.