The Brothers Karamazov

Worth reading.

excellent condition for the price, I'm hoping the book will take me deeper in one of my favorite novels, that I've read twice

My three criteria for Great Book candidates are that they must be deep intellectually, stunning in character development, and beautifully written. This book is unequaled in all three ways. It states the argument against the existence of God based on evil, and the appeal of worldliness, as well as I've ever seen, then epitomizes those ideas in characters and plot, and then does pretty well developing counterarguments on all those levels. The Magic Mountain and Dr. Faustus by Thomas Mann, lots of Sartre and Camus, and actually quite a few other novels, personify but don't particularly argue ideas [very well, at least]; Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, on the other hand, is powerful and catchy and does argue, but her favored characters are mostly one-dimensional facets of her philosophy, which is so extreme that her envisioned opponents end up being straw men. The accuracy of her images of opposed views cannot be defended seriously. Dostoyevsky's characters are archetypes, but with multiple dimensions and realism, who engage in real conversation and resultant temptations to waver [though not as deeply as Bakhtin claims]. Dostoyevsky gives a rounded description before each main character appears, but then the character, in dialogue, bursts into a colorful reality. The writing is complex and yet gripping--reading it in high school was pretty hard, but then picking it up in college, I could not put it down, except to rest. It sometimes seems to wander but is constantly building, and its digressions turn out to be amazing constructions. I've come back to my Constance Garnett translation again and again. I've only read pieces of one or two others [and I cannot read Russian], but Garnett seems as skillful and consistent as any in expressing [seemingly] Dostoyevsky's views and vision of the Russian soul. That soul does contain, regrettably, anti-semitism, anti-catholicism, nationalism, and anti-modernism, and Dostoyevsky transmitted them all. But, except for the anti-modernism, which he argues forcefully, these views obnoxiously mar the book but aren't essential to its amazing argument or structure. Compared with the fine books on many 10 or 100 best lists, this one is a sun competing with floodlights.

It would be presumptious of me to "review" Dostoevsky's great masterpiece "The Brothers Karamozov" or, as Avsey has convinced me it should be rendered, "The Karamazov Brothers." Yes, it is one of the greatest novels ever, yes, it is life-changing, and yes, it is on that short list of books that should be read before you die. More than a murder mystery of course, it concerns the existence of God, fraternal rivalry, the question of guilt, the condition of Russia and what it means to be Russian. So, the main question is what translation to choose? As I don't read Russian, my only criteria was how it read in English. Did it flow well, did it maintain interest, was it "literary"? I had sampled the more popular Pevear-Volokhonsky translation, the current Penguin Classics version, and the older Garnett translation too, and while I did not get too far in any of these, Avsey's version gripped me from the start and I ripped right through it on vacation. The Oxford World's Classics edition has much to recommend, including a time chronology, an index of main characters (an absolute necessity, as the same characters are referred to four or five different ways sometimes), and extensive editorial notes. Also, a minor point, but kudos to the printers Clays Ltd. for a superb job of printing, the paperback is a wonderfully crafted work of art!

Anyone who says that this guy is a bad writer or that his work is hard to follow is full of & @#%! Dostoevsky is such an amazing author. He can build so many character backgrounds so quickly, and is elaborate throughout every page! This is definately the best book i have read, and probably will be for quite some time.