ed_moore 's review for:

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

4.0

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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“Not for nothing are we a poet. Not for nothing have we been burning our life like a candle at both ends” 

‘The Brothers Karamazov’ is such a dense and philosophical piece, grappling with morality and religion through the lives of the three Karamazov brothers and their turbulent relationships with their father. It took a fair while to get into, and Dostoevsky’s frequent use of nicknames was hard to get the hang of, but soon it evolved from a rambling (I use this word not necessarily in a bad way) literary fiction where a lot of people ask others for loans and are frequently refused, to a sudden courtroom thriller that I drew parallels between such and Dreiser’s ‘An American Tragedy’ in this progression. It was here that I became hooked. 

I have come to really like Dostoevsky’s prose and style, though I slightly preferred ‘Crime and Punishment’ for its grittiness, the author’s general attitude to life in his writing is brilliant. I will note that I felt Ivan was a character not given the same treatment by the author as the other two brothers. I got really into the stories and characters of Dmitri and especially Alyosha, although felt like Ivan was cast aside a little and much less developed than the other brothers. Although in the battle of ideologies between Ivan’s atheism and Alyosha’s faith, Ivan does seem to be granted the triumphant world view despite the authors Orthodox Christianity. His doubt towards the fight he believed in does therefore especially prevail within his writing. 

(I also had the joy of peer motivation to get through this within the month as I buddy read 'The Brothers Karamazov' with Morgan !!)