wizmelifa 's review for:

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

5.0

challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Really excellent and worthy of its renown. Immensely challenging, but very rewarding and I’m glad I stuck with it. An unapologetically raw exploration of the varied intricacies within human morality, and the duality of atheism and theology and the muddled middle ground between the two. Obviously the language is antiquated and some of the more philosophical passages in the first half were pretty long winded and tough to get through sometimes, but most were followed up with excellently dramatic interactions that kept me engaged and wondering what would happen next. The second half was superb and well worth the amount of context needed from the first half. 

I will say that if I wasn’t reading it on my kindle I would have had a much harder time finishing it. Being able quickly access definitions and explanations of words and phrases I was unfamiliar with without putting the book down and looking them up made the experience of reading this much better. The x-ray feature was also really helpful for keeping track of all the characters and their multiple nicknames, without it I definitely would have had to write them all down to keep track.