Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov. Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Reason read: I no longer remember why this was chosen for May.
The question of nature versus nurture has always been a topic for debate. Who are we? Why are we here? Do we have a divine reason for being on this planet? In short, Dostoevsky is asking for the meaning of life. Sort of. This is the story of a patricide when any of Fyodor’s children could have been his killer because no one has a good relationship with him. Not to mention the competition between father and son over Agrafena (Grushenka). Here is a brief overview of The Brothers Karamazov:
- Book One sets up the family dynamic
- Book Two introduces the dispute over the family inheritance
- Book Three is about the love triangle between Fyodor, Dmitri, and Grushenka
- Book Four – you can skip. It’s a side story
- Book Five is pros and contra, the Grand Inquisition & Jesus (reason and blind faith)
- Book Six is about the Russian monk; the life and history of Elder Zosima, dying in his cell
- Book Seven introduces Alyosha and the death and decay of Zosima
- Book Eight illustrates Dmitri’s greed in order to run away with Grushenka
- Book Nine is Fyodor’s murder (finally)
- Book Ten is another side story
- Book eleven is about Brother Ivan and his quest to find his father’s killer
- Book Twelve is the trial of Dimitri
Author fact: Dostoevsky died shortly after finishing The Brothers Karamazov.
Book trivia: The Brothers Karamazov was originally published as a serial.
Nancy said: Pearl said “A good part of reading life can be spent most productively with the great (and well-known) Russian books…” (Book Lust p 210). She said more but you’ll just have to read it for yourself.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Russian Heavies” (p 210).
~*LunaSea*~ 