The Brothers Karamazov

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Summary: Don't you dare go to your grave without reading this book!
Review: From the moment I finished John Irving's A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY in 1989, I would literally beg everyone I knew to read it. Up until March 1997 I proclaimed APFOM the greatest novel I'd ever read. Then I read THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV. It's now 1998 and I'm still haunted by this apotheosis of Dostoyevsky's incredible oeuvre. I've never had any attachment to God (I neither believe nor disbelieve in God; to each his own worship, I always say). That these two books dealt so profoundly with God will perplex me for the rest of my life. To whatever force in the universe it was that led me to these two masterpieces, all I can say is THANK YOU. Maybe these two titans of American and Russian literature have served as messages to me to keep an open mind. And even if I ultimately wind up in hell and thus miss out on the chance to chat with God in heaven, I will always be eternally grateful that the greatest novel ever written, THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, and the second-greatest novel ever written, A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY, were a part of my life here on Earth.

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Summary: Quite simply the seminal work of Western Literature.
Review: Unlike the Bible, whose veracity cannot be confirmed, Dostoyevsky's work here is quite simply the seminal work of Western Literature. In it , we find the archetypes for all the great literary characters for the next two hundred years. It's all here, from the most probing philsophical discussions regarding the nature of good and evil, to some of the most comic passages in world literature, this novel encompasses the totality, not only of the Russian epoch, but of our nature. As all great novels, it is resists age and culture specificity, as it plumbs for what Dostoyevsky calls "the man in man." I won't even go into plot details(how would one summarize the Bible)? It's a work of art, of history, of sociology, of science, of religion of philosophy and once done on this remarkable journey, one is hard pressed to render into common language the speech-defying edicts of the dark. THE GREATEST OF ALL GREAT NOVELS.

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Summary: The Frosting on the Cake
Review: People will tell you that you should read The Brothers Karamozov because it is Literature (capital-l) at its finest; that it encompasses great and universal themes - philosophy, morality, filial responsibility, religion - with grace and skill. Don't let the size intimidate you, they'll say; this novel will enrich you deeply. Hmm. Well sure, that's true. But more importantly, this is a damn fine read.... It's got intrigue! Romance! Greed! Betrayal! Passion! Murder! Gypsies! Desperation! Jealousy! Even brain fever! Read it for the excitement; the "enrichment" is just frosting.

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Summary: THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST!!!!!
Review: 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.

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Summary: Overwhelming
Review: I first read this book when I was 16. I also had the benefit of reading it in Russian. I've read it not may be 10 or 12 times, often just by randonly picking a chapter and reading over and over again. It still overwhelms me. Some people compare it to the Bible, some people compare it to the War and Peace, some people think it's a crime mystery, but everyone I know agrees that this is the best book ever written. You life is not complete if you haven't read this book.

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Summary: Dostoyevsky the Inquisitor, Dostoyevsky the Genius
Review: Some call this book - with good reason - the best novel ever written. Even the author himself realized that he had written something deserving of continuation. Dostoyevsky's death, however, halted these dreams and we can only wonder how it would be possible to top this literary atomic bomb. Why atomic bomb? The power and breadth of The Brother's Karamazov are so huge and so effective - even today - that its power and energy has a half-life that rivals that of deadly nuclear material. Its darkness is so deadly as to suggest that God, as Christ coming back for a semi-return, could be sat down and questioned like a common criminal in the Grand Inquisitor. And, even more deadly, questioned by a member of the clergy. No doubt, however, this is the author himself asking the questions we dare not ask of God, for they are too scandalous for us to even ponder. Amidst the darkness and ludicrous antics of the characters stands a shining figure of Dostoyevsky's hero: Alyosha. Reflecting Prince Myishkin in his other great novel, The Idiot, Dostoyevsky paints a figure of innocence with his colorful words and abundant descriptions. Against Alyosha Ivan and Dimitry are compared and contrasted. Each possesses some hint of their brothers innocence, but reject it in their own personal darkness. Yes, the fallout from this bomb is still felt today, quoted by countless speakers, preachers and teachers. We, the common people, can only stand back and bask in the glow of a literary great. If you haven't read The Brother's Karamazov, you simply have not truly read.

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Summary: Please do yourself a favor and read it.
Review: I know the length is intimidating, but this book contains much more than a story. It is a discussion about religion, philosophy, and pure human emotion. It will make you exclaim aloud, it will make you cry tears of frustration and compassion, and in the end it will make you laugh and ultimately feel how wonderful and tragic is the human condition. Analyze it as is necessary, but then sit back and enjoy the story for itself. The work of a genius

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Summary: Most significant and least understood work of the modern age
Review: It is likely that this is the most important work of the modern age; consequently, it is also the most frequently misunderstood. While maintaining the style of the grotesque and the "fantastic realism" of all his works, Dostoevsky here brings the movement of his novel into the realm of paradisal comedy. While it is perhaps indecent to say that any great work is "about" one specific theme and that alone, it can be maintained that the fundamental theme of this work is the search for the good in a world of evil and absurdity,and the discovery of redemption. It is an exploration of the dualism of things: as Dmitri Karamazov says to his brother of the mystery of beauty, "God and the devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the human heart."

The author, who influenced the philosophers and existentialists of the day, presents a Christian existentialism of mystery which is so much a part of the Russian spirit that it can not be shrugged aside as religious propaganda. Dostoevsky's God is as important to his work as Homer's gods and goddesses are to his epics. Critics who fail to realize this invariably misunderstand the whole of the work, ignoring the importance of the Elder, Zossima, whose way of suffering love is posed against the sympathetic tyranny of the famous Grand Inquisitor. Morover, they fail to see that it is Alyosha, the young monk, who is the hero of the story: the only one of the three brothers who is able to achieve peace, through his loving acceptance not only of mystery--which is, after all, intangible--but of the living, material earth as well, embodied in the soil of "Mother Russia." He is the bearer of hope for the future--although not for a future utopia, for Dostoevsky in spite of his almost mystic tendencies is a realist.

Now that our culture is at last growing tired of a pretense at angst, and is willing to accept comedy, perhaps the comic--and therefore profoundly human--vision of Dostoevsky will begin to be more widely accepted

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Summary: The most dynamic book I'd ever read
Review: Even if you've never met a person even remotely like a Dostoyevsky character,you always swear that you know some of these people as you read them,or maybe it's because you're so familiar with them in your own consciousness.The vulgar gallantry of Dmitri,Ivan who lives on the respect of his intellect and on saving face,the precocious precociousness of thirteen-year-old Kolya,and the purity and simple wisom of the beautiful,beautiful Alyosha who is probably the most enchanting creation in literature,along with many,many other fascinating characters.The collision of all these personalities is both intense and enthralling,and in many ways this book seems to answer all of life's questions.I fully agree with Vonnegut who once wrote "Everything I needed to know in life I learned from The Brothers Karamazov"

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Summary: A depth that rivals Shakespeare . . .
Review: The Brothers Karamazov is one of most ambitious literary undertakings of the past two centuries, and Dostoyevsky's tour de force meets expectations with room to spare. This novel contains all that can be accomplished in literature, with depth and complexity one could devote a lifetime of study to. Completely engulfed my life until I had turned the last page