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The Brothers Karamazov (Bantam Classics)
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Fyodor Dostoevsky. 1984. Book review by Joel
So this is where I've been for the last five months… reading this giant novel and lumbering through the deep, dark recesses of Dostoevsky's mind--his novel about man's belief in God, and consequences and patricide; sordid love triangles, and justice. It's a big novel that covers big ideas. Depressing ideas.
One thing I would like to mention first is that I read the introduction essay by Konstanfin Mochulski at the front of the book and it contained spoilers. So, if the copy you get has this essay in it I would recommend waiting until after you read the book to look at it. It is a good essay and explains some things in the book that help to understand what Dostoevsky is going for.
I had a hard time with this book. It took me forever to get through it, mainly because it was relentlessly depressing. Written in 1880, it was finished just before the author died in 1881. The book is about three brothers and one bastard brother and their overbearing idiot of a father, who drives them to patricide. Fyodor Karamazov is the father, who drinks and carouses with young women, spending his money on himself and not on his sons. He lives like an animal, and even rapes the town crazy woman and bears a child with her--the young Smerdyakov--everyone thinks he's an idiot but turns out to be quite different. There are the three sons: Dmitry the sensuous son who can't control his emotions and who ends up in a three-way love triangle with his father and Grushenka the wench. There is Ivan the intellectual who is questioning the existence of God, tormented by devils. And then, there is Alyosha the spiritual son who is in the monastery to become a priest--actually the hero of the book, according to Dostoevsky. These characters all are filled out and trampled upon by the author until someone breaks and the father is murdered. Then it becomes a trial where it seems that all of mother Russia is on trial for its loss of moral compass.
That being said, I must say, I am not a huge fan of this book. I had misconceptions of what this book was about before reading it and thought it was something completely different. It is still the best-written, best emotionally described book I have ever read, but it was depressing. Did I say that yet? Damned depressing. I even tried reading a book in the middle of this one to lighten up a bit (The Quincunx) but that book was even more depressing than this one. Sheesh. Then I read She's Come Undone, and that was even more depressing……my god….what have I done??? Why? Why??
Those are my big questions…
And to make it worse, I can't even spell check this review because of all the Russian names. Boo hoooo….
Joel.
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©2004-2008 by Book Reader's Traverse. All rights reserved.
Do you like this book review? Joel has written for Book Reader's Traverse since its conception in 2004. He often finds his books in unusual places, including hometown shops where he visits, and even dumpsters at times. See his comical bio and picks--Joel's Picks.
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