Often called the first existentialist work, Dostoyevsky&rsquo;s 1864 <i>Notes from Underground</i> touches on many of the philosophical problems dealt with in the Russian master&rsquo;s novels. The story is written in the form of a journal belonging to an unnamed man who withdrawn himself from society into an underground existence. The first part is a monologue in which the narrator philosophizes and then laughs at his ideas; the second part is a recounting of adventures from the narrator&rsquo;s life, which exemplify some of the ideas propounded in the first part of the story.<br /><br /><i>Notes from Underground</i> is considered one of Dostoyevsky&rsquo;s most powerful and original stories and marks the starting point of his literary maturity.<br /><br />Includes image gallery.