“I am a sick man.. I am a wicked man. An unattractive man”.
The opening line already makes me fall in love with the book.
This book is about an Underground man who is arrogant, nihilist, and egoist. He believes society is filled with stupidity. This man is self-isolated, lonely, self-loathing, and weak who desires to feel powered by humiliating people. He resents everything and is incapable of love hence confesses the truth about himself. This man believes confessing the truth about himself makes him a better person. So that everything can be forgiven.
PS: Notes From Underground might be the first book on existentialism and if not, then it’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche. So if you are into existentialism then these books are a must-read.
Some of my favorite quotes-
“A decent man must be a coward and a slave. This is the natural law of all decent people on earth.”
“I want peace. I’d sell the whole world for a kopeck this minute, just not to be bothered.”
“Which is better – cheap happiness, or lofty suffering?”
Apeksha 