Third time's a charm. I DID IT! I made it through all 800+ pages. A timelessly human tale of a dysfunctional family. I especially liked the last 200 pages...the trial. The reader is beautifully swayed by the defense attorney and then by the prosecutor. As with Crime and Punishment, he weaves a tapestry of the human condition.
Of course, Dostoevsky indulges in his trademark— long passages of philosophy, sociology, and religion throughout the narrative. I will forever carry vivid images of the story and a memory of the characters in my brain. I have read 3 of his 4 long novels...I will have to read The Possessed to complete the set. Dostoevsky and Steinbeck are two of my favorite authors. I see where the first influenced the latter. Crime and Punishment and East of Eden are two of my favorite books.