Notes from the underground

This short novel by the celebrated Russiona author Dostoyevsky is a must read for anyone interested in the basic questions of life. I have never read a book that is so disgustingly true yet honest about the human psyche. The narrator of Notes…, who starts off his story with the statement, “I am a spiteful man”, maynot be a man-next-door character, but shades of him can be found everywhere; and if you look carefully enough, you may not have to look beyond yourself. I would say Dostoeyvsky’s strength lies in the ability to put before you, in white and black, all those dark thoughts that so often cross human mind, even if for a fleeting moment, with unprecedented clarity. It is both awe-inspiring and scary at the same time. What you may not be able to tell yourself, he tells in print, with no apologies.