Reviews

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

goodghoul's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

5.0

boneillius's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

1.5

temi_m's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

3.75

angelboy's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

pained_creations's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

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

4.0

I loved the first two books I read from  Dostoevsky, so I assumed I would love this one. I just never really cared about the characters, and it got very slow in many parts. It is halfway through the book before the main event happens, and the last half is better than the first, but it was HARD to get through this book. Very well written, but just never connected.

knees_n_toes's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

smithmick14's review against another edition

this book felt like a courtroom drama playing out at a microcosmic level within Dostoevsky's own psyche and at a macrocosmic level within Russian history and the cavalcade presence of modernity washing over traditional culture. people use objectivism and the truth as battering rams to burst through primitive traditions. death is considered in its full brutality and its full comedic mundanity. in a lot of ways it feels like the first true postmodern epic. except for maybe Hamlet.

i couldn't help but tie myself to the idea that each of the brothers (and even Fyodor himself comedically) represent some part of Dostoevsky's person that he was attempting to reconcile and to pose against antagonizing thoughts at every step. the result as a story is immensely readable. the result as a psychological investigation is heartbreaking and awe-inspiring. to have so much going on in one's head that a full spectrum of opinions for any one topic can come to fruition and each argument be held by a fully fleshed out character in the novel. this book felt like him convincing himself that many facets of an issue can be true by considering the truth of those facets all at once within himself.

some highlights that i will come back to for the rest of my life: The Elder Zosima's biographical section and its meditations on the concept of solitude. Ivan's rebellion and his story of the Grand Inquisitor. Ivan's fever dream battle with the demon/the devil/his own mind/Dostoevsky's own mind. both of the closing remarks in the courtroom. the investigation of precocity that Alexei bears witness to at Ilyushenka's (sp?) sickbed.

a quote to leave it off for now: "people take this whole comedy for something serious despite all their undeniable intelligence".

you want divine intervention? look elsewhere. you want humanity? you've found it.

almondlatte's review against another edition

challenging 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

yulenka's review against another edition

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

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

5.0

rei16min's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0