Rating: 
Summary: A thought-provoking page-turner
Review: There is so much to this amazing classic, it's impossible to get it all on the first reading. On one level, it's a murder mystery. The town lech, Fyodor Karamazov, is murdered and all of his sons have one motive or another for wanting to murder him. His oldest, Dmitry, appears to be guilty. Fyodor owed Dmitry 3000 rubles (mysteriously missing after Fyodor is killed) and they were both in love with the same woman.
But then on another level, the book is about the nature of faith and God. Each of the relationships is the relationship between ideas. It juxtaposes individualism with the affect of the social order on individuals.
Does faith in itself make people virtuous? Or is faith a structure to prevent people from acting NOT virtuous? Which is more important -- love for all humanity? Or love for the individual? For the religious, morality depends on the immortality of the soul. But, is that then truly morality? Is it morally superior to do wrong and hate yourself for it? Or to not know you're doing wrong at all? Where is the line between suspicion (there's this whole theme in the book that dishonest people cannot love because they will always be suspicious) and skepticism? Is the concept of sin a doomed idea intent on controlling the baser parts of what it means to be human? In which case, the idea redemption is just a way of distancing ourselves from our own humanity. If God gave free will, then why do the religious attempt to take it away? They take away free will and offer security instead, which is like saying God failed and they need to jump in and take over.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: Dostoyevsky's last work relates the tales of three squabbling brothers and their sick father. One is a man of the monastery, who grapples with the problem of pleasure, while his brother and father fight for the love of a woman.
Though, what makes this novel so great is not so much the objective character of what happens, but the intrinsic dispositions of the personages (relating in a sense, Schopenhauer's statement that great literature relates the inner states, rather than the outer). It touches on all the problems of human life, all those infinitesimal events which torture us in this brief, fleeting and painful existence, one, that through literature such as this, we for moments, overcome.
Also recommended: Toilet: The Novel by Michael Szymczyk (A Tribute to the Literary Works of Franz Kafka)
Rating:
Summary: It made me rediscover the joy of reading
Review: I hadn't had a reason to read until my latest work commute changed adding a 1 hour plus train ride. As a result I was drawn to this book as a fascination with the author first, and second as a 'test' to see if I could get through it. I noticed it's length and was drawn to see if I could finish it and more importantly enjoy it.
In the end it was the most satisfying book I have ever read in my life. What else can I say here that hasn't already been said? There are passages in this book and chapters that have some of the most unique writing I have ever come across. The characters are so litteraly vivid that the amount of detail in describing their thoughts and conversations practically puts you in their head as they speak.
It's also amazing how almost half the book is just background and conversations (fascinating they are), and the plot doesn't come out until much later, and then when it does it certainly leaves you hanging on every word. You really get an insight into how these characters think, live, and breathe. I still keep thinking of them days after finishing this book. It is as if you can see yourself in all of them in some way or another.
Remember a pound of nuts, ask if hell has hooks if there is no ceiling, know the grand inquisitor, try to recognize the devil, find the balance between mans hatred and spirituality with god.
Read this book at some point in your life before you die. I am amazed a human can create something like this as Dostoevsky did. It is absolutley mind-boggling.. Sheer brilliance.
Rating:
Summary: Great Dostoyevsky book!
Review: God, murder, a love triangle, and a trial, these are the things that Dostoyevsky loves to write about. Unlike the Idiot, where I felt there was a overemphasis on Prince Myskin, I felt that each of the three brothers, Dmitry, Ivan, and Aloysha had their own equal emphasis and character development.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: This book took me three months to read but it was well worth it. The character development and plot will not let you put this book down. I could see the traits of the characters in many people I have meet throughout my like. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Essential Dostoevsky, beginners maybe start elsewhere
Review: The Brothers Karamazov is a magnificent piece of literature. Anyone the least bit familiar with Fyodor Dostoevsky will easily spot his hand at work here, which means some familiar ground for readers of other works by the author. This is not at all negative, however; this volume overflows with illuminating, thought-provoking Dostoevsky ideas.The Constance Garnett translation is somewhat awkward; I find Garnett overly monotonous and convoluted. Though Dostoevsky is no quick nor casual read, his text was certainly confused in some of Garnett's meandering passages. I feel other translators do a more concise and entertaining job, while keeping the same ideas intact, though I've only briefly read other translations. To give evidence to my critique, the notes on translation in the back of my text indicate some issues, including the title itself! Instead of "The Brothers Karamazov," the book should probably be "The Karamazov Brothers." As editor Ralph E. Matlaw states, "we do not refer to 'the brothers Kennedy'," and I'll mention "the sisters Hilton." On the bright side, I feel the strange title makes the book feel more "foreign" and exotic. Matlaw also states Garnett doesn't just confuse the reader with some language, but actually simplifies and cleans up other language, turning at least one character into a more polished version than Doestoevsky probably intended. Thankfully, Garnett's peculiarities become familiar and comfortable. Overall, this book is sufficiently readable. Of note to first-time Dostoevsky readers is the extreme number of characters quickly introduced near the beginning of the book, with the traditional cavalcade of Russian names, surnames, and nicknames. This is no deficiency of the translator, but rather a difficulty inherent with the source text. Fans of Dostoevsky may simply be wondering: is this worth the time to read? After taking in all 700+ pages, I can answer a resounding yes. Ideas introduced in earlier works are here fleshed out into living, breathing, bleeding human beings. I feel the characters are some of the most real I've ever encountered in literature. The variety in people eases the reader's process of identifying with a character; I identified with multiple throughout the book. For those being introduced to Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment may be better, simply because Karamazov has a slow, disorienting beginning. However, if you enjoy the Russian master, you will relish in the delight of Karamazov.
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