Reviews - Братья Карамазовы

4.53k reviews for:

it’s really hard to just give a book like this a rating out of 5-stars! on the one hand, it feels bloated and slow, with pages of monologues on obscure (to me) bits of Russian politics/culture.on the other hand, the book starts galloping chaotically after the central plot element and starts to feel more familiar to a modern reader. (aside: I saw a headline whilst reading this that said Dostoyevsky writes realistic dialogue and I have since come to realize that people monologue more often than I previously realized).

I read a few articles and reviews after finishing and it was fascinating to see the breadth of themes and takeaways people had. even the question of who the hero and villain are is up for plentiful debate. there’s certainly not much clarity in the book, and it’s hard for me to say how much of that is intentional and how much of it is due to my distance from the subject and setting of the book.

it feels like you’re required to give classic books 5 stars or risk looking uneducated, but I’ll be frank: this book was confusing, tortuous; I constantly felt as though Dostoyevsky was trying to make a point, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was. with my lack of familiarity with whatever Fyodor had his panties in a wad about, having a thematic overview beforehand would probably have helped me make more sense of the (incredibly long) monologues. however, the characterization, which is a little more timeless, was fascinating to me; and the plot really shone once it centralized a little more. in summary, what’s the rating for “good, but I might have to read it again with more context”??

tyllrllys's review against another edition

4.0

challenging reflective slow-paced

cthib9's review against another edition

5.0

“There is one other book, that can teach you everything you need to know about life... it's The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, but that's not enough anymore.”

- Kurt Vonnegut, [b:Slaughterhouse-Five|4981|Slaughterhouse-Five|Kurt Vonnegut Jr.|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440319389l/4981._SY75_.jpg|1683562]

Holy men say the greatest pieces of art have a common thread: They reach out, arms open, toward the divine. They transcend flesh and physics, crafted without limitation. To reduce these masterpieces to mere oil and canvas or sounds and melodies is to lose all meaning-to lose all self.

After long consideration, I would have to agree.

Beethoven's "Ode to Joy," based off a poem from playwright Friedrich Schiller, seeks the creator of the world, "Above the stars he must dwell."

John Steinbeck's [b:East of Eden|4406|East of Eden|John Steinbeck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639969375l/4406._SY75_.jpg|2574991], a retelling of Cain and Abel, leads readers toward salvation with one word: timshel.

Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam is self evident.

While many more examples exist throughout history, few pieces I have encountered address religion as comprehensively as The Brothers Karamazov. I put this novel up with the masterpieces for an unorthodox reason - it is flawed within itself, but tries to make sense of its own aspirations toward the divine.

Each character comes with different levels of complexity. Staying within the Karamazov family, you see the pious Alyosha represent the holy and stout, the intellectual Ivan spiral into darkness and the sensationalist Dmitri burn too hot and too quick. Many universal ambitions and follies of man are on display in these three alone. Coming up on 150 years old, the novel had almost no age to it.

At a basic level, the story involves a father/son love triangle and the most comprehensive court case I have ever read.

But even if you know the entire plot, the reading of this book is its own reward.