Dostoevsky's disturbing and groundbreaking novella appears in this
new annotated edition with an Introduction by Charles Guignon and
Kevin Aho. An analogue of Guignon's widely praised Introduction to
his 1993 edition of "The Grand Inquisitor," the editors'
Introduction places the underground man in the context of European
modernity, analyzes his inner dynamics in the light of the history
of Russian cultural and intellectual life, and suggests compelling
reasons for our own strange affinity for this nameless man who
boldly declares, "I was rude and took pleasure in being so."