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rochellicott 's review for:

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
4.5
challenging emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is the first Dostoyevsky book I’ve read, and by the end, I was on the edge of my seat.

It’s a story of 3 brothers (plus one illegitimate brother) whose different beliefs and passions torment them in a different way. A sordid love triangle, a crisis of faith, and torment from a devil the victim doesn’t even believe in summits in a courtroom drama that debates justice and mercy. 

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the themes and context of this book, but I might just spend the rest of my life digging deeper. 

My only qualm (and maybe comes from ignorance & misunderstanding) is that I wish the narratives had woven together more at the end, especially Alyusha’s engagement (and character development as a whole). I do feel like the book left us at the brink of character development—who will each of these brothers become?—but at least from my initial reading, they largely stayed the same throughout the novel.