cthib9 's review for:

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

5.0

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“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.