Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #133414 in Books
• Published on: 1995-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 1072 pages

Customer Reviews

A classic story
THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, which is one of Dostoyevsky's all time best, perhaps the best, adds to make him perhaps the best writer of all times. The author came up with so many great ideas and characters that are so real to life even in their complex emotions and rationales that we relate to the characters as if we are in their heads. In the end, not only do we have a great story, we are also left with a beautifully written work of political, psychological, sociological, ethical and psychological thought that is very true not only to Russia, but to other lands and peoples as well.

The greatest soul writer of all times and great contributor to human psychology successfully created a beautiful and amazing dynamism between the Karamazov brothers that has been the core of many stories after involving siblings. There is the unreliable father, the old Fyodor Karamazov whose life dominates his sons and whose death casts a huge shadow on their future.

Sensual Alyosha who is the youngest of the Karamazov brothers is the main character of the story, and he is noted for his strong faith in god and humanity, deep kindness and sense of sacrifice.
Ivan the atheist has a sharp mind and is the critical analyzer who seeks for meaning in everything. He is skeptical and dwells more on rationale in his dealing with people and issues. In the end, his intellectual mind misleads him and opens the doors to the nightmares in his life.
Dmitry is the sensitive brother who has a strong consideration for anything living, Smerdyakov their half-brother, is the cunning illegitimate son of old Fyodor Karamazov and works as Fyodor's servant.

The characters of the brothers and the events of their lives made for the complex and fascinating story of exceptional proportions, where faith, meekness, atheism, indifference and slavery to negative instincts and impulses are often in conflict. Faith and atheism or disbelief in God is taken to epic proportions in Ivan's encounter with the devil.

Dostoevsky stated that, "when there is no God, all is permitted.". That assertion is reinforced in books like UNION MOUJIK,THE IDIOT and CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. The absence of God or lack of faith in man makes it possible for man to thrive in his worst animal instincts. Even when man starts with good intentions, the absence of faith usually derails him to the point where the good intentions are overshadowed by the negative effects of his actions. My conclusion is that this is a rare masterpiece.

On the translation...
Standard comments on The Brothers Karamazov usualy range from "the only novel you'll ever have to read" to "everything--*everything*--is in this book."

I agree, and I'm not going to pretend I can say it any better. But don't go for the cheapie $5 mass market paperback, people. I bought it the first time I read this novel (I now own four different copies/translations), and the spine broke immediately after I opened it, the ink on the page runs if you place your finger on it, and the paper is cheap as all heck. There's a reason for it... this is a long, long book, and they had to keep the printing costs low. The extra money for a better verison is worth it just for the better printing and binding.

The translation for the Bantam Classics version, however, is not great. It's definitely readable, but not all that near the original. Or so I've been told by several Russian-speaking folks (several of whom are professors who've dedicated their lives to Dostovesky). It's a toss-up between the standard Constance Garnett translation (most editions have this one) and the new Pervears/Volkonsky translation under Vintage Classics.

Personally, I enjoyed the Vintage version the best: the binding and printing is excellent, and the translation is lively, readable, and about as close to the original as you can get in English. Garnett is a little archaic these days. Either way, however, don't go with Bantam Classics--if The Brothers Karamazov isn't worth a few extra bucks in this world, I don't know what is.

The Brothers K is the best novel I've ever read
I started reading this book and slowly, through the course of a year, drank every word and let it sit on my soul. I have yet to see any other piece of writing come as close to perfection. It delves into the human soul so much more deeply than "just philosophy" and it is certainly the best developed novel imaginable. Every character has his or her place and the action is believable because we know just how murky our own minds are! Nothing can compare to the intensity of this novel and the way it works with the mind. And it is all drawn together with characters, each one is a foil to the others. You cannot read it without being affected because we all recognize that the brothers lurk within.