• Notes from the Underground

  • By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,442 ratings)

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Notes from the Underground  By  cover art

Notes from the Underground

By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Publisher's summary

A predecessor to such monumental works such as Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, Notes From Underground represents a turning point in Dostoyevsky's writing towards the more political side.

In this work, we follow the unnamed narrator of the story, who, disillusioned by the oppression and corruption of the society in which he lives, withdraws from that society into the underground. A dark and politically charged novel, Notes From Underground is Dostoyevsky at his best.

Public Domain (P)2009 christianaudio.com

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What listeners say about Notes from the Underground

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Awful hero, great narrator

Another in Dostoevsky's line of repulsive (but immediately recognizable) main characters. The Underground Man is someone you want to grab by the collar and shake till his teeth rattle. Simon Vance (as usual) gives a superb performance.

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22 people found this helpful

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insights that transcend time

Loved it. Why can't every authour write as well, or, at the least, use Dostoevsky as a measuring stick for their own plots, styles and themes? And such themes--of truth, of character, of love, hate, ideology and motives. 'Notes' has insights that are more contemporary than most self-help books written only last week: timeless. And an Anti-Hero that readers can use as a measuring stick of symptoms to identify in one's own psyche. Could there have been a Breaking Bad without this authour's formulation of the seminal, negative (yet honest to a fault) existential protagonist?

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20 people found this helpful

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great book, great narration

my favorite Dostoyevsky read by, now my favorite narrator, Simon Vance. Mr Vance makes this novella a whole experience. Am looking forward to another listen in the near future, this time it won't be Dostoyevsky bringing me back for more, it'll be Simon Vance.

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14 people found this helpful

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Personally Gripping

Dostoevsky is one of the greatest for a reason. The story cut to my heart it reminded me of my darkest days and showed me the kind of person I once was, and made me so glad to have raised myself form such a place of self conflict, loathing, and pretentiousness. As the author says there is no doubt there are many people just like the main character dwelling in the world today.

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8 people found this helpful

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Works pretty well as an audiobook

Thanks partially to the story itself, and partially to the narration, this audiobook is very listenable and not a bad way to digest some Dostoyevsky.

There are a minimal number of characters (so you need not memorize dozens of Russian names which might be indistinguishable to most anglophone ears).

And Simon Vance narrates the prose wonderfully, perfectly modulating his performance over the span of the work.

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7 people found this helpful

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Very Thought Provoking

I must confess, I adore Dostoevsky's novels, and this does not have the same feel or excitement as they do. If you want to touch upon only ONE Dostoevsky book, I'd suggest you choose "Crime and Punishment" or "The Brothers Karamasov" instead. They may be longer, but I actually found them to be much quicker and more fascinating reads. That said, THIS is still a remarkably well written and intriguing book, and well worth your time. It is not pleasant, but that is part of the point. It challenges us, and hopefully helps us to grow in the process.

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5 people found this helpful

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What are words?

It seems that the translator of this version doesn't know what sentence structure is, or how we speak in English. In fact, I don't believe this translator knows English at all, let alone Russian. Read the physical book, translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky, or David Margashak in certain printing.

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Insanely good narration!

Though the narrator does an incredible job bringing the maim character to life, the story by itself is already very real. you will get no nonsense here - only a comprehensive look into what it's like to fall into nihilism and contempt for life.

Intense.

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4 people found this helpful

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another classic

Dostoyevsky is a dear favorite of mime. I love his books, and I love the theology behind them. Crime and Punishment is still my favorite, along with The Brothers Karamosov. But this book's treatment of a lost man rambling on, feeliing at once his own folly, but powerless before it, is a great reminder oof what we all are without Christ.

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4 people found this helpful

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Not for the Lacking in Heart

Starts off hilariously funny but winds gradually into the truly darkest recesses of the human soul, mocking while cursing in tears, as we all normally would only do in secret.

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3 people found this helpful