The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

Last month, I did a quasi-review of The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  I had to put it down for an odd reason- the book was misprinted and pages were missing (see my post for more details).  But, the publishing company graciously mailed me a new one, and so I was able to continue the story.  This is, therefore, a full review.

The Karamazov brothers are an interesting lot.  Their father is a womanizing, free-spending jerk who had four boys by two wives and an illicit encounter.  He ignored his kids while growing up, and they've dealt with it in different ways.  Dmitri, the oldest, had a short stint in the military and is in many ways like his carousing father; Ivan looked to philosophy and turned against God; Alexei walked with God and lived in a monastery for a time, learning from a venerable elder; Smerdyakov (the illegitimate son) resided with the old man as his servant/cook.  Things are seldom good in this dysfunctional family, but when Dmitri and his father are chasing the same woman, and Dmitri believes his father owes him inheritance money, things get ugly quickly.  The father is murdered, and all signs point to the oldest . . . but is there more than meets the eye?

This book was okay.  The theme was outstanding, looking how our sinful, broken nature can manifest itself differently from person to person.  And many characters in the book showed the ability to both love greatly and fall horribly- a poignant (and accurate) portrayal of reality.  These gems aside, the execution left something to be desired.  Some chapters were good and fast-paced; others were lengthy rants or philosophical treatises that were hard to follow and (in many ways) probably unnecessary to the story.  The latter half of the story picked up and was markedly better than the first, so press on if you're intrigued.  It's clear the author was using the novel to discuss different ideas about God and man, love and hate, moral wrong vs. legal wrong- always good topics.  I just wish it had been done in a more readable, condensed style.

Dostoyevsky excels at painting pictures of human brokenness.  I see it here, in The Idiot, and in Crime & Punishment.  Of the three, the last is by far, in my opinion, the best.

Rating: B