Notes from Underground
Fyodor Dostoevsky
15 people recommended it in 14 threads, 2009–2025.
What people on Hacker News said
Another great read, much shorter, more like getting into a street brawl: Notes From The Underground by Dostoyevsky. Practically the creator of self critical essays, and often the first read for people interested in Existentialism.
"Notes from the underground" is one of the best introductions to existential nihilism I can think of.
IMO a must read for any intellectual that has ever struggled with anything from self-deprecating thoughts to superiority complexes.
After starting and restarting the book a few times to get into the flow, it definitely turned out to be one of my favorite books.
Crime and Punishment and Notes from Underground are a reasonable length, are told in a linear fashion, and largely easily differentiable characters.
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