The Karamazov Brothers - Fyodor Dostoevsky > Reviews

Advantages: see op
Disadvantages: see op

...will quickly introduce it. « The Karamazov » gathers a rising family drama of 3 brothers (Dimitri, burning and wild; Ivan, intellectual, idealist and intransigent; and Alexei, monk, devoted and naive) and of course the father, a horrible character that deserves only what occurs to him, because he forsakes his children and lives only in the vice and the lust. He is a cheap man and reluctant being. His sons somewhat disturbed by a sinister youth ... Read review

Advantages: Too many to list
Disadvantages: Time consuming (is this really a disadvantage?)

The Brothers Karamazov is Dostoevski's magnum opus. It weighs in at a hefty two volumes, not quite of Tolstoyian size, but certainly in the same ball park. Many will opt for Crime and Punishment or The Idiot - generally regarded as more manageable, but to overlook Karamazov is to miss out on one of the finest works in the Russian literary canon. The novel concerns the fortunes of three brothers - Dmitry, Ivan and Aloysha, and their varying relationships ... Read review

Advantages: sustained genius; philosophical profundity; splendid characterization
Disadvantages: the ending could have come a little sooner

The greatest myth about this book is that it is not as accessible as Dostoyevsky's shorter works. The Brothers Karamazov is, on the whole, very readable; it is only the sheer size of the work that fosters the delusion that readers would be well-advised to chose a different book. The plot, which is summarized elsewhere, is simple, the themes profound. The range of characters is impressive, but not too great (as it is, arguably, in Tolstoy's War and ... Read review