The Brothers Karamazov
Ratings335
Average rating4.4
There is far too much in this book for a simple mind like mine to comprehend. As a straight read it frequently drags like molasses. For this I'd give it two stars. Many of the characters are deeply unlikeable, including at least one, and maybe two, of the brothers Karamazov. For them I'd give it two stars. But The Brothers Karamazov is far greater than any of this superficial stuff. I'm an uneducated lump, so I could only discern it vaguely and remotely. In fact, I had to read Nicholas Berdyaev's “Dostoevsky” to even begin to discern what Dostoevsky was getting at. That book itself was at least 90% over my head, an immensely difficult read, but the 10% I did comprehend shone a light on Dostoevsky and at last I was able to see a little into the vast depths of TBK. After all that, can I say I enjoyed it? Absolutely not. It's a mission to read. It is not light entertainment for a wet weekend. But it might be one of the greatest books I've ever read.
Finally got to the end with this brick of a novel. A typical Dostoevsky. Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong for Dimitry Karamazov who does not get along with his father in the first place when they even start to chase the same woman. Lots of Unlucky love and philosophizing about religion, human behavior, Russia and so on and so forth.
Maybe an over interpretation but I immediately thought Father Zosima to be Dostoyevsky himself who sends Alyosha to the world to spread love and forgiveness. I found the last chapter of the epilogue to be a very powerful farewell.
This novel is full of:
- Repetition. For some reason everyone in that village thinks that others are deaf. And they should repeat any important sentences twice. It would be cool if only one character did it, but it seems it does not matter how well or bad educated you are. Repeating sentences is cool.
- Sick people. Main reason of sickness is being worried. No less than three characters would get fever and bed rest for weeks after worrying too much. There are also other source of sickness to the point of wondering if the water around there is drinkable at all.
- Unrealistic dialogues. Monologue is the main way of conversing, it seems. Always about God, ethics or any other abstract topic, of course.
- More repetition. I hope not to reveal much saying there will be a trial in the novel. Witnesses will repeat everything which had happened in the novel till that point. Then the public prosecutor will summarize it again and then the defense lawyer will repeat it for the fourth time. Each with a slight different angle and explaining about the Russian soul. This part is so dry that even people giving 5 stars to the novel complains about it.
- Exaggeration. This is the pattern used by half of the characters around 40 or 50 times in the novel:
I will unless . Serious guys, you are way too dramatic.
- Lack of speech. Often, way too often something happens and some character is speechless. Which is cool because some other will start its 10pages monologue so someone has to give room.
- Lack of resolution. Sure Dostoyevsky wanted to make a second and third part of this, but could have rounded up this one a little bit more. Like, what happened with Liza, she disappears 300pages before the end and there is no hint of what's going on with that.
I could continue. I've seen the rest of the reviews. Lots of 5 stars. I've read them, I can't buy the arguments.
For instance: “It has friendship, family, doubt, self-sacrifice. Everything what's being human”
Sure, but so does other many many books. Damn, Hyperion, a sci-fy book, read it, the consul story only got all that. And that's one of 7 pilgrims.
Other argument “Very realistic” . Come on, the conversations there were ridiculous as well as most of the characters. They are extreme characters to represent ideas “the passion” “the rationale” “the faith” etc. It was everything but realistic.
I've also seen reviews of people saying things like “slow, boring, took me forever” and give it 5 stars...
If anything I can buy it made you think. Nice. I like that, extra star for it.
But Dostoyevsky totally blew up this one. He needed more sun there and going out for a walk instead of so many hours writing, would he have finish this book at a 200 pages mark, it would have been good. Delete monologues and repetitions, that's 400pages off at least.
I'm not going to attempt a review–the book's too big and I have only just finished it for the first time. I will confine myself to a few reactions.
1. I LOVE IT!
2. Dostoyevsky has written one of the world's great books.
3. I will be reading it again.
4. This is one of the most psychologically accurate, perceptive, and honest things I have read in a long time. Or ever.
5. I LOVE IT!
6. Everybody was right who told me to read it. I was wrong to wait so long.
7. Wow. I am, to be honest, speechless, so I will shut up for now. Maybe later I will be able to write intelligently about this book.
8. Thank you, Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
My first Russian novel. I don't see what all the fuss is about. I thought this book was overlong, talky and bathetic. It also hasn't aged all that well. On the plus side, the audiobook narration by Frederick Davison was excellent.
Incredible book. Epic. But I'm still trying to process the ending. Very odd, in my opinion.
The first time I read this back in 2011, I gave it 5 stars and considered it one of my favorite books. It had a lasting impact on me because of the philosophical and theological conversations and ideas in the book.
However, my re-reading experience has not held up to my memory of the first time. The first time, I remember being invested in the characters and the story, and the murder mystery. This time I was bored for most of the book, other than those philosophical/theological conversations. I'm not sure if it was because I primarily listened to the audiobook this time instead of reading the physical book as I did the first time, or what.
I'm not sure I would have completed this second reading at all if I wasn't meeting with some friends locally for a couple of book club discussions about the book. The first one was great fun and I'm sure the one tomorrow will be as well.
Even though I struggled to get through the book this time, I still think this is a book that is worth reading. But if you don't have the time or patience to read the whole thing, you should at least read the section called “The Grand Inquisitor”. This is a poem that Ivan recites which questions the possibility of a personal and benevolent God.
The other section that has stayed with me all this time is when Ivan is railing against a God who would cause or permit the suffering of children. I can understand why some, thinking that believing in God means believing he wills every horrible thing that happens in the world, have abandoned belief in God entirely. Ivan says, “I renounce the higher harmony altogether, it's not worth the tears of ... one tortured child.”Memorable quotes/highlights:“The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love...““Love is such a priceless treasure that you can redeem the whole world by it, and expiate not only your own sins but the sins of others.”“I love mankind, he said, “but I find to my amazement that the more I love mankind as a whole, the less I love man in particular.” “Can you understand why a little creature, who can't even understand what's done to her, should beat her little aching heart with her tiny fist in the dark and the cold, and weep her meek unresentful tears to dear, kind God to protect her? Do you understand that, friend and brother, you pious and humble novice? Do you understand why this infamy must be and is permitted? Without it, I am told, man could not have existed on earth, for he could not have known good and evil. Why should he know that diabolical good and evil when it costs so much? Why, the whole world of knowledge is not worth that child's prayer to dear, kind God'!”“I don't want more suffering. And if the sufferings of children go to swell the sum of sufferings which was necessary to pay for truth, then I protest that the truth is not worth such a price.”“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.”
I think this is by far the finest novel that Dostoevsky wrote. It was long, but I may read it over.
There are so many potent scenes in the Brothers Karamazov it's hard to know where to even begin. One of my favorite parts was the dialog between the old man Karamazov and the Elder Zosima near the beginning of the book. Both argued so masterfully and with such humor that it was hard not to root for them both. I really didn't expect to find myself laughing out loud so much at anything by Dostoevsky.
A taste of the humor:
Blessed be the womb that bare thee, and the paps that gave thee suck–the paps especially. When you said just now, ‘Don't be so ashamed of yourself, for that is at the root of it all,' you pierced right through me by that remark, and read me to the core...If I had only been sure that every one would accept me as the kindest and wisest of men, oh, Lord, what a good man I should have been then! Teacher!” he fell suddenly on his knees, “what must I do to gain eternal life?”
It was difficult even now to decide whether he was joking or really moved.
Father Zossima, lifting his eyes, looked at him, and said with a smile:
“You have known for a long time what you must do. You have sense enough: don't give way to drunkenness and incontinence of speech; don't give way to sensual lust; and, above all, to the love of money. And close your taverns. If you can't close all, at least two or three. And, above all–don't lie.”
“And I seem to have such strength in me now, that I think I could stand anything, any suffering, only to be able to say and to repeat to myself every moment, ‘I exist.' In thousands of agonies–I exist. I'm tormented on the rack–but I exist! Though I sit alone on a pillar–I exist! I see the sun, and if I don't see the sun, I know it's there. And there's a whole life in that, in knowing that the sun is there.”
“God preserve you, my dear boy, from ever asking forgiveness for a fault from a woman you love. From one you love especially, however greatly you may have been in fault. For a woman–devil only knows what to make of a woman! I know something about them, anyway. But try acknowledging you are in fault to a woman. Say, ‘I am sorry, forgive me,' and a shower of reproaches will follow! Nothing will make her forgive you simply and directly, she'll humble you to the dust, bring forward things that have never happened, recall everything, forget nothing, add something of her own, and only then forgive you. And even the best, the best of them do it. She'll scrape up all the scrapings and load them on your head. They are ready to flay you alive, I tell you, every one of them, all these angels without whom we cannot live!”
This book is pretty damn good. I started reading an earlier translation, and was able to compare and contrast with this edition quite a bit, and let me tell you, this edition won awards for a reason. It's a little heavy, and it might put you to sleep, but it's worth it as it's a classic tale with a plot that has very few parallels. There are a lot of characters, but it's not too hard to keep straight. I read it as part of a class so we had in-class discussion and quizzes, which made it easier to keep the story straight and to get as much as possible out of it.
This is a book that I read during my Masters of Social Work program. Because it had to do with patricide, it was a wonderful read in order to understand the complexity of family dynamics and the tragedy that can ensue when things go horribly wrong.