I just finished reading The Brothers Karamazov. I have the Constance Garnett translation, which is about 900 pages long. It took me a while (around 2 months) to finish it because I was trying to fit reading it into a busy schedule. My rate ranged from 5 pages/day to 50 pages/day. Regardless of my busyness, though, I always looked forward to my free time to sit down and get lost in the world of the Karamazov family.
This novel was written by one of Russia’s most prominent novelists, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and it was published as a serial from 1879 to 1880. The novel has twelve books and an epilogue. It is centered on the Karamazov family: Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov (the father), Dmitri Fyodorovich Karamazov (the eldest son), Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov (the middle son), and Alyosha Fyodorovich Karamazov (the young son). There is also Smerdyakov who is believed to be Fyodor’s son, but this is never confirmed throughout.
On the surface, this novel walks you through the life of three sons. The relationship of each son with each other and the father is the main driver of the plot. Fyodor, the father, is introduced as a buffoon who does not care for his kids. He is a sensualist who disregarded his kids and never showed them fatherly care. They were mostly raised by other people around them. Dmitri grew up to be similar to his father, a romantic, but did not have his buffoonery, although he made a fool of himself during multiple occasions. Ivan is the intelligent brother. Dostoevsky uses Ivan to discuss his most prominent ideas in the novel (such as the Grand Inquisitor). Alyosha, on the other hand, is introduced as a naive monk and a faithful person. He acts a mediator throughout the story.
Fyodor ends up getting murdered by Smerdyakov because Ivan’s ideas got to him – mainly that everything is permissible if there isn’t immortality. Dmitri is then captured as the suspected murderer because of the evidence and because he threatened to kill his father several times. Ivan then gets a brain fever from overthinking and falls sick. Alyosha tries to be the mediator between everyone and ends up being the character who survives it all – maybe because of his solid faith.
The Brothers Karamazov is a novel that is meant to be read several times. Every time you read it, you may peel additional layers of depth and new meaning may surface. The novel is deep, complex, and it tackles a multitude of topics. I’m not going to dive into them here, but they are worth listing:
- Morality and conscience
- Family and relationships
- Free will and determinism
- Faith
- Good and evil
- Criticism of the contemporary Russian society and its decay
I have to say that finishing this novel felt like an accomplishment. At first, I thought that the complex plot, and subplots, along with the large number of characters, would make it a tough novel to read. It was not that bad. Dostoevsky makes it easy for us to remember the characters and brings them up often throughout the novel. The plot was reasonable and clear.
Having said that, understanding the underlying meaning is not. To better understand this, you may want to learn about the history of Russia during that period and learn about Dostoevsky’s life. Contemplating the plot and discussing it with family and friends will definitely shed light and make it more enjoyable.
I encourage you to pick up this book and give it a try. Due to my busy schedule, I was hesitant to start this novel for the longest time. I am glad now that I did not push reading this novel any further.
