Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

8 reviews

ayphyx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Abandonment, and Child abuse

Minor: Cursing

verpissdich's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Translator's prose neither too dense not too colloquial.

The Grand Inquisitor section (Ivan's Peom) is very thought provoking.

Alyosha's character development after the death of father Zossima, or perhaps significant lack thereof, also thought provoking.

I found the recounting of Father Zossima's life through the narrator and Alyosha's recollection highly tedious, but nonetheless illuminating, especially in its parallels to Dmitri's transformation after his arrest. I also found it slightly difficult to get through Dmitri's interrogation while at the inn, and his presumed guilt is infuriating to read through although this is clearly intentional.

In general, an enjoyable examination of human nature.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Toxic relationship

julianh's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Child death, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Antisemitism, Racial slurs, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

suneaters's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A pivotal case study in family dynamics and the manifestations of parental failures upon children in adulthood, all culminating in the bitter but ultimately satisfying truth of who killed the Karamazov patriarch. Daddy Issues™️. Alyosha best boy confirmed. 

In all seriousness, it’s a powerful exploration of family trauma, greed, guilt, and faith with a satirical overtone—don’t let anyone say Dostoevsky was gloomy! He posits important questions to the reader. 

Can your daddy issues make your a murderer? Is that really the devil? Can you try to make your family come together before

your bastard half-brother kills your father because he mistakenly thought your other brother wanted him to and your other other brother is set up as the fall guy?

 

I liked how it ends without resolving everything.

We don't know if they're going to help Mitya escape and we don't know if Ivan will end up with Katerina after all or if Grushenka will decide she loves Mitya after all. We end with the funeral of a young boy called Ilyusha who fell ill at some point after seeing Dmitri beat up his military captain father instead of with some grand conclusion on the story of Ivan, Aleksy, Dmitri, and Smerdyakov. We don't know if Marfa and Grigory have been spoken to by Ivan or Alyosha after Smerdyakov confessed to Ivan.

 

The religious overtones are also very interesting. Alyosha is considered this pure being, so much so that Rakitin spends basically the entire novel trying to shake his faith whether by poking fun at elder Zosima's decaying corpse or trying to introduce him to Grushenka. Alyosha is clearly the author's thought of what people should be like with his innate goodness and love of mankind. He resolves any doubts he has with his simple faith and his belief in the goodness of mankind. He does good and tries to help bring his family together after. He isn't naive or innocent and while his brother sees suffering as a reason for atheism or a cruel God, Alyosha sees it as a resolve to try to put goodness out into the world. 

Ivan is religiously and spiritually conflicted. He oscillates between a belief in a Machiavellian being and atheism. This turmoil from his own cold sophistication and eventual overthinking skepticism eventually leads to

his vivid hallucination of the Devil and his spiral into madness.

Mitya tries desperately to overcome his own jealous and angry nature to become a better man.

His and Ivan's optimistic endings can be seen as authorial optimism for the outlook of mankind overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

Minor: Alcoholism, Antisemitism, and Ableism

caitlynhm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Child death, Alcoholism, Murder, and Death

Minor: Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Animal death

aislinn_mcd_harrison's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

How do you rate the brothers Karamazov? It is likely the longest book I’ve read as an adult and covers both a huge amount and a tiny slice of a family’s life. I wish I had read a better translation as some parts were very clunky and odd. 
I was sceptical until the chapters “rebellion” and “the grand inquisitor”. From “Mitya” onward I was hooked, but I u der stand somewhat why the parts before were there. I read a review calling this maximalist literature and I definitely think that’s true but it was really an excellent experience and I am so glad I read it. It is my fathers favourite book and I made lots of notes and feel I understand both the book and my dad better in that context

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Murder, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

imrath's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Child death, Terminal illness, Grief, Infidelity, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Murder, Animal death, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

abbyreadsbigbooks123's review against another edition

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Self harm, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Violence