"The Double" is a delightful tale written very much in the manner of Gogol. In his "Lectures on Russian Literature," Nabokov says, "The very best thing he [Dostoyevsky] ever wrote seems to me to be 'The Double.' It is the story -- told very elaborately, in great, almost Joycean detail ..., and in a style intensely saturated with phonetic and rhythmical expressiveness -- of a government clerk who goes mad, obsessed by the idea that a fellow clerk has usurped his identity. It is a perfect work of art, that story ...." But Nabokov does not think so well of Dostoyevsky's other works. He finds his work wanting both in art and in genius. Dostoyevsky was too much influenced by mystery and sentimental novels.

Perhaps Nabokov's dismissal of "Notes from Underground" is appropriate from a purely literary point of view, but the novel is of interest from a philosophical point of view. In the first part of the novel, the narrator is speaking to an imaginary audience. The narrator is obsessed with free will and is at pains to argue against the Enlightenment view that freedom and happiness are complementary. He is spiteful, not from some personality disorder, but rather from his philosophy. The second part involves detailed, and at times humorous, remembered humiliations. And then the noble prostitute. As Nabokov says at this point, "The conversations are very garrulous and very poor, but please go on to the bitter end. Some of you may like it more than I do."

There is no greater writer than Dostoyevsky. He captures emotions in his works and this is what makes him timeless. Though this may me a "lonely" book, it takes you to a desolate place and teaches you of the coldness of reality. I was moved by this piece, and also found great humor in some of the darkest moments in the story.

I put down this book in an uneasy state. From his obsessive compulsive behavior when faced with any minor social situation to his ultimate, passionate, desperate encounter with the prostitute, Liza, the nameless Underground Man, in my opinion, is a culmination of all of Mankind's deepest, most cursed darknesses and fearful flaws. His seclusion from society allows him to comment on society "looking through the cracks" and thus gives the reader a morbidly realistic and accurate view of what our society truly is made of: boldly masked cowards. For anyone who's willing to think and to accept Dostoevsky's cynicism as possible reality, I highly recommend this terrifically intricate book. Whether you finish the book with passionate love and pity for the character or profound hate for him, it is worthwhile all the same.