Notes from Underground
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevskyby Fyodor Dostoevsky
Ranked 3 of 8 novellas by recommenders
Recommended for its portrait of a self-destructive narrator who feels destined for greatness and its prescient views on people. Dark, so not for the easily affected.
6 people recommended Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
3 of the 6 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Dostoyevsky Isn't Difficult”.
Summary written by Claude from 6 comments.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 0
The record
Recommended in 3 of 12 months
In 4 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 4 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- The biggest thread supplies 50% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 6 of the 6 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Profound and prescient about many things
“he was eerily prescient about many things”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “The Possessed Machines: Dostoevsky's Demons and the Coming AGI Catastrophe” “I found it a profound book”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Dostoyevsky Isn't Difficult” Narrator who sees himself as a genius
“Notes From the Underground was a great example of this where the narrator feels that he's destined for great things”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Dostoyevsky Isn't Difficult” “Notes From Underground" about the lone genius”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “Brothers Karamazov was Einstein's favorite novel”
Other novellas people recommend
The four most recommended other novellas, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Farmby George Orwell | 17 | 4 | 4 | 81% | 10 | — | Approved |
| The Little Princeby Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | 15 | 3 | 4 | 79% | 2 | — | — |
| Notes from Undergroundby Fyodor DostoevskyThis page | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Flatlandby Edwin Abbott Abbott | 5 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| A Short Stay in Hellby Steven L. Peck | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 6 opinions about it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's dark, not for the easily affected.”
“Notes From Underground" about the lone genius”
“Notes From the Underground was a great example of this where the narrator feels that he's destined for great things”
“Leave Notes from Underground lying around at-hand.”
“I found it a profound book”
“he was eerily prescient about many things”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.