Rating: 
Summary: Long but well worth the effort
Review: Russian novels are notoriously long. This one at 900 plus pages is long but well worth the effort. As with the other Dostoevsky novels the dominant theme is religion. Here Dostoevsky says that you cannot subject the existence of God to intellectual scrutiny rather you must have faith to accept God. As the character Ivan Kamarazov so eloquently argues, logic would indicate there is no God and no Heaven. So if there is no immortality then nothing is immoral. "Everything is permissible" as other reviewers have noted. Advocating the opposite position is the Greek Orthodox monk Father Zosima whose legendary faith attracts a horde of admirers including Aloshya Kamarazov. The Devil himself, who of course believes in God, says "Besides in matters of faith, proof, especially ,material proof is pretty useless."One striking feature of this novel is how the different characters here evolve as distinct personalities under Dostoevksy?s stewardship. After hundreds of pages of prose we can clearly recognize that the brothers Ivan, Aloshya, and Dmitry are quite different from one other and not just two-dimensional, cartoon like, parodies of themselves The literary critic Harold Bloom says that Shakespeare invented personality in it's written form you can see what he means when you read Dostoevsky implement this skill. This novel is steeped in psychology and theology and argues against the European enlightenment encroaching upon Mother Russia. Yet it is not all erudite, high-brow scholarly stuff. In his running commentary on the novel itself, Dostoevsky clearly says he intends his book to be entertainment. So these themes are woven into a captivating detective story which as everyone knows is who committed parricide. One tip: don't look at the table of contents because it tends to give away the plot. Final comment: it is amazing that this novel is almost all dialogue or Dostoevsky probing the thoughts of the characters. There is almost no description of the setting or explanation of events that have transpired. Rather these events unfold right in front of us and we are privy to all their nuances.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: This book may seem daunting to some young readers, but I would recommend it to anyone with a real thirst for great stories. Easily one of the top five books I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: What lurks within the hearts of men
Review: If Charles Dickens's novels are a romanticization of Victorian England, then Dostoevsky's must be a realization of 19th Century Russia. "The Brothers Karamazov" not only sheds light on Czarist Russian life, society, and religion, but also succeeds in completely captivating the reader with its vivid characterization and dynamic plotting. Like Dostoevsky's other novels, it is a study in man's motivations for good and evil, his potential for corruption, and his glory in salvation. Each character, scene, and event in the novel seems to relay a principle that religion provides the structure for society, for better or worse. The novel chronicles the fragmented Karamazov family, who live in a small Russian town. The father, Fyodor, is a hedonistic, boorish landowner, twice a widower, who has his eye on a young lady named Grushenka. He has four sons: The oldest is Dmitri, an ex-military officer, a passionate, desperate, violent young man who is like his father in many ways; for one thing, he also is madly in love with Grushenka. There is Dmitri's half-brother Ivan, intellectual and studious, but morbid and cynical, and whose motto is "everything is lawful." There is Ivan's gentle, magnanimous brother Alyosha who is an initiate monk and whom Ivan likes to provoke with his iconoclastic discourse. Finally, there is the illegitimate Smerdyakov, a morose and cruel young man who works as Fyodor's cook. None of the brothers has a particularly loving relationship with their father or with each other. Each brother has a personal devil and an angel. Dmitri's devil is Grushenka; his angel is a young lady named Katerina to whom he is engaged, both connubially and financially. Alyosha's devil is a divinity student named Rakitin, who exploits the misfortunes of the Karamazovs; his angel is his mentor, Father Zossima, who represents religious solace. Ivan's angel is his brother Alyosha; his devil is his own conscience, with whom he converses in one unforgettable chapter. Smerdyakov's devil and angel are the same person: his father, the only person who has ever entrusted him. It is interesting to observe how each brother's devil and angel influence his actions and thoughts and provide conflict throughout the novel. One night, Fyodor is murdered, and Dmitri, who has the most urgent motive, is accused of the crime. This could be considered the central event of the novel, but it is not the event on which the novel's profundity rests. What is profound is the series of psychological mind games that the brothers play with each other both before and after the murder; they could be any trashy family on a modern TV talk show, but they have Shakespearean complexity and depth in the way they express their anguish and weave their webs of deceit. The novel ends with a seemingly positive notion about death and the joy in the remnants of life; in the very last scene, the stirring speech that Alyosha delivers after a young friend's funeral could have been Dostoevsky's own requiem. This is a staunchly uncompromising novel, refusing to provide any easy answers and forcing the reader to look inside his own heart for the source of good and evil.
Rating: 
Summary: Laborious yet insightful reading
Review: Brothers Karamazov is very complex, in relation to the characters and their interactions. To me the characters were not described very well and the dialogue seemed forced, at times incoherent(why is everyone having convulsions?)It seems Dostoyevsky did not have any strength left to make the dialogue interesting. People would lapse into fits for no reason and hallucinate constantly, it made you just want to get to the more philosophical sections. The personal interactions were mainly confusing and frustrating, many times I wanted to throw the book in the garbage. 75% of this book consisted of the characters going back and forth to each others houses talking about god knows what(you lose interest and lose track of who's who eventually and they all sound the same). This book was a definite chore-read, I did not suspect this having read "crime and punishment" beforehand, a book I was very impressed with. The only part I did enjoy were Dostoyevsky's questions about morality, which are always satisfying and informative. It is possible that Dostoyevsky's illness in later life reflects the poor effort of this book. I think that because it was his last, people assume that it was his greatest. I wouldnt waste your time, maybe read the cliff's notes. (...)
Rating:
Summary: This book is not for literary wimps
Review: A deep philosophical treatment on well just about everything important: God, Satan, pleasure, pain, justice, honor et cetera.
Not only that Dostoyevsky creates many of the most memorable characters in literature. The Brothers Karamazov are both archtypes to ways of life and real people. The only reason one might not like this book is if you want a simple, entertaining diversion. This is a trying book. It is suppose to be trying. This book will expand your mind. If you like this book you might also like Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun tetragy, it is the only other literary work comparable to it.
Rating:
Summary: Best ever written book
Review: I guess I am a bit bias toward this book because I had read it three times. First time when I was 15 or 16 years old I was supposed to read Dostoyevskiy at Ukrainian high school, so I did. Second time at 18 and now I am rereading it third time. This is a real book. No movie, of theatrical action can fully describe the deepness of moral, political, religious dilemmas raised by author. If you think you know everything about life and its meaning, read this book, and you may rethink it. In a way it's a controversial book ,in a sense, that if you believe in God (as I do)-book will strengthen your faith; but if you don't (believe in God) you may find a lot of logical labyrinth that prove your atheism. Still aside of religion question this book is just wonderfull piece of good writing. Characters are fully developed, there's no shallowness in them. Anyway read this book, you won't be sorry. Best ever ever literature.
Rating:
Summary: Beware of the Winger
Review: Although I have enjoyed her vibrant, subtle performances in such movies as Shadowlands and Black Widow, I am sorry to report that Debra Winger bashes to bits any pleasure that might otherwise be gleaned from listening to the Brothers Karamazov on tape. Dostoevsky is, you might argue, an odd choice for B. on Tape, but I do believe my drive through Wyoming and South Dakota would have been nicely complemented by a more careful reading of this classic. Winger reads the entire book like she has to go to the bathroom: a misplaced urgency and frantic pace pervade her every word. Her reading of characters' speech is worse, sounding more like the awkward improvisations of a college freshman bound for business school who takes an acting class for fun than an accomplished stage and screen actress. The result is that one feels like every paragraph is the climax of the story, and that every character is a cocaine addict who can't score any blow. Indeed, I even found myself wondering if this was Winger's first read of the book. In short, I say stay away from the Winger.
Rating:
Summary: everything is permitted, so read
Review: Where did modernism come from? Russia. I can understand why some people find Joyce's Ulysses annoying. He is a kind of show off. I think that book is unnecassarily difficult. Joyce created a structure based on Homer and Shakespeare and every other master that ever wrote and his holy house of modern fiction is filled with words spoken mostly by one character to himself. Odd, huh? Proust puts the focus of his work on one sensibility, his own, but is every trifle of his comfy existence among Counts and Countesses worthy of the focus he brings to it. Again, kind of odd. If those two books don't really sit well with you or even if they do read Dostoyevsky's masterpiece. The Brothers Karamazov is also a huge book like those later two but it's focus is wider(four + main characters, all very different)and its ultimate effect more profound. Dostoevsky's theme is nothing less than the death of God. All of his work is existential but this is the most complete exploration of the topic. "If there is no God, then everything is permitted". If that sounds like a good thesis to you and you've grown tired of the drawing room that is(much of)the western canon then begin reading this. Once you begin no one will be able to distract you. I read it in college during a week long break when I was stranded on an empty campus. My favorite scenes are not the long speeches which are a bit like tracts inserted into the text but scenes like the strange dream sequence which I think the Russians do better than anyone, in fact many parts of the book leave one in a dream like delirium. Perhaps the modern was born of a long sleepless night in Russia. You will lose sleep reading this because it is long but you will have chosen the right story and storyteller, this Russian mystic will infuse your days as the characters encountered the night before whisper in your head and your dream life will be rich. I like to imagine the Russia Dostoevsky describes still exists. I think perhaps it does. Joyce is great and so is Proust, both bring a great deal of psychology to the novel and that is one thing that makes them modern. Dostoevsky is also a psychologist. Some might say a slightly more primitive one, but to some that might think civilization does not move all that quickly, if at all, Dostoevsky remains a master. His expertise: those areas of the psych that have not yet submitted to civilization. Heavy, powerful stuff that makes for great heavy nights.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent novel with deep meaning
Review: Although I'm not even in college yet, Dostoyevsky is by far the most perceptive author I have read, which includes Orwell, Huxley, Zamyatin, Dickens, etc. Seeing as how I'm lacking age, I have not yet managed to grasp some of the concepts and deeper meanings of the book, however one thing was clear to me when I finished it for the first, and definately not the last time: this is a book that changes people at a personal level, speaking different words to different people, as opposed to 1984 for example, which communicates the same ideas to everyone, making it's mark on the society, not the individual.
Rating:
Summary: Don't do it to yourself
Review: This is without question one of the greatest novels ever written. Do not atempt to argue against this book. Some critics paint Dostoevsky in braod strokes i.e he is too "over the top" and only has momentary flashes of brilliance. This is the kind of drivvel that gives fools internet rage. Thats when you have to jump out the cuts and lay that crikkety-clack-smack down on fools. READ THIS BOOK FOR YOUR OWN EDUCATION. I would recomend more Dostoevsky to anyone. One might also want to check out Pushkin, and Dumas.
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