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A review by sunfloweronmylap
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
5.0
I was highly intimidated by this book and put off reading it for a long time. I read many spoiler-free reviews and realized people largely had two popular opinions about this - it is the greatest book ever or they couldn't get past the first 100 pages. I'm someone who hates abandoning books, especially when it is a book as loved as TBK and I'm also someone who deliberates a lot before picking up a book that is over 500 pages.
However, I was positively surprised by how much of a page-turner it was. It still isn't a book you will compulsively read through because you will want or rather be forced to put this book aside and think about faith, God, and morality. At times you will have to reread a few paragraphs or even the whole chapter to completely get it, what I didn't know was how much I'd love doing that. How much I would individually love certain chapters. A review here mentioned how the characters care a lot about a person's opinion on God and immortality and they do. Even the young ones. For us, small talk is asking about the weather and for the characters in this book, it is deliberating upon and debating about the existence of God and immortality. I was again surprised by how interesting, how far from boring those conversations were, and how much I loved those in comparison to the other parts which didn't have those deliberations.
Also, those philosophical debates are not all that this book offers you. Right after 50% of the book is when the real plot begins. The murder. That is when it becomes a fast-paced whodunnit followed by an exciting courtroom scene. And that is when you start compulsively flipping through the pages. You cannot stop.
And then the genius Dostoevsky tops it off with some of the best-written characters I have ever come across. There are characters you love, characters you love to hate, characters you sometimes hate and sometimes love and characters you pity.
In short, this is a perfect blend of philosophical debates, well-written characters, a perfect murder mystery, and a scandalous love triangle. I will now start my journey of compulsively recommending this book to everyone and spreading my love for it.
However, I was positively surprised by how much of a page-turner it was. It still isn't a book you will compulsively read through because you will want or rather be forced to put this book aside and think about faith, God, and morality. At times you will have to reread a few paragraphs or even the whole chapter to completely get it, what I didn't know was how much I'd love doing that. How much I would individually love certain chapters. A review here mentioned how the characters care a lot about a person's opinion on God and immortality and they do. Even the young ones. For us, small talk is asking about the weather and for the characters in this book, it is deliberating upon and debating about the existence of God and immortality. I was again surprised by how interesting, how far from boring those conversations were, and how much I loved those in comparison to the other parts which didn't have those deliberations.
Also, those philosophical debates are not all that this book offers you. Right after 50% of the book is when the real plot begins. The murder. That is when it becomes a fast-paced whodunnit followed by an exciting courtroom scene. And that is when you start compulsively flipping through the pages. You cannot stop.
And then the genius Dostoevsky tops it off with some of the best-written characters I have ever come across. There are characters you love, characters you love to hate, characters you sometimes hate and sometimes love and characters you pity.
In short, this is a perfect blend of philosophical debates, well-written characters, a perfect murder mystery, and a scandalous love triangle. I will now start my journey of compulsively recommending this book to everyone and spreading my love for it.