The Brothers Karamazov / The Possessed

by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (Translator)

Dostoyevsky's literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social and spiritual context of 19th-century Russian society. With the embittered voice of the anonymous "underground man", Dostoyevsky wrote Notes from Underground (1864), which has been called the "best overture for existentialism ever written" by Walter Kaufmann. He is often acknowledged by critics as one of the greatest and most prominent psychologists in world literature.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Russia

1855 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 17, 2011

About the author

Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский (Russian)

Works, such as the novels Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880), of Russian writer Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky or Dostoevski combine religious mysticism with profound psychological insight.

Very influential writings of Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin included Problems of Dostoyevsky's Works (1929),

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky composed short stories, essays, and journals. His literature explores humans in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century and engages with a variety of philosophies and themes. People most acclaimed his Demons(1872) .

Many literary critics rate him among the greatest authors of world literature and consider multiple books written by him to be highly influential masterpieces. They consider his Notes from Underground of the first existentialist literature. He is also well regarded as a philosopher and theologian.

(Russian: Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (see also Fiodor Dostoïevski)

Reviews

[Carl Waluconis · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a lot of debate over translations, but I will take that up at the end. In any case, novels just don’t seem to have characters like this anymore. The intense brothers, their fascinating but off-track father, two daring and often mysterious women, a dying priest elder who was either a saint or charlatan depending on one’s perspective: these were among the main characters, but there are plenty more to lure you into this extravaganza of humanity. There were four brothers, one fathered out of marriage with a homeless woman sadly cast off from the village. This novel is also about Russian community, which functions like a main character - equivalent to the chorus in Greek tragedy. There are though two sections that might slow down contemporary readers. One near the beginning of the novel is a philosophical examination of religion. The other is the trial that occupies 14 chapters, several of which are dedicated to the final arguments by the attorneys, written at a time when oral debate kept people’s wrapt attention for hours, in other words before the loss of people’s impatience with the need for concentration. On the other hand, there is plenty of excitement to make this a page turner. The chapter with the devil’s visit to Ivan Karamazov is not to be forgotten. Whether the portrayed devil is “real” or not really does not matter. His answer to whether there is a God or not is priceless. If you feel the 19th century is too far removed from current times, consider this observation on the violence of the homicide: “Now we are either horrified or pretend to be horrified, though we really gloat over the spectacle, and live strong and eccentric sensations which tickle our cynical, pampered idleness. Or, like little children, we brush the dreadful ghosts away and hide our heads in the pillow so as to return to our sports and merriment as soon as they have vanished.” I’m commenting on the Constance Garnett translation, and after standing as the acclaimed translation for decades, it came under heavy fire. Just the same, for all its problems it did not seem to do so much harm to the novel, which emerged as one of the greatest in the judgement of English speakers. This was the first of her translations of Dostoyevsky’s works he, and I think it is one of her best, with some of the others too often wooden. He wrote madly, hardly ever stopping to rewrite. She translated the same way. D.H. Lawrence described the pages piling up beside her as as she feverishly worked. Just the same, most judge the translation by Peavar and Volokhonsky to be preferable. It certainly was painstaking, taking them twice as long to translate as the author spent tp write the novel. It seems that teams with a woman and man often work best for a effective cultural translation. In either case, the dark intense characters and events, spiced with some humor, will continue to make this one of the world’s greatest novels. His characters always enter my mind and stay with me. I definitely plan on reading the Peavar and Volokhonsky translation as well, though not right away - probably in about a year. Apologies for not commenting on "The Possessed" - I read it some years ago and it was a different translator at Penguin Books. It is also a phenomenal work, but I readit tooling ago to comment on it here.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have finally tackled The Brothers Karamazov! Actually, it has tackled me, making me feel as if I can at last touch ground after being suspended in air, riddled with anxiety for what seems like an eternity.

I must admit that I grew tired of the enormous amount of dialogue, especially the relentless dramatic way the characters interacted with one another. But this is to be expected, because it is another culture, on another continent, at a particularly turbulent time. I have always believed that doubt is a powerful tool that can educate and shape one's character, and, although I still have the same conviction, Dostoyevsky has held a mirror in front of me, clearly revealing the anguish that accompanies the bottomless search for Truth.
Ivan's brilliance was overshadowed by both his righteous indignation and his venomous spite. Smerdyakov was a product of his environment, resentful and cruel. Ivan fed Smerd.'s craving for knowledge, but created a monster, postulating that in a Godless world all is lawful, and men (humankind) will elevate from slave-man to god-man (hello Nietzsche!), reaping all of the glory of living life in the present moment, unfettered by the quest for eternal salvation. Dmitri had the same reckless and passionate spirit as his father, only Dmitri was remorsefully driven by an infernal desire to achieve honor, love, and righteousness. Alyosha's saintly manner tried my patience, but such an unwavering character is desperately needed in turbulent times. Alyosha embodies the ideals of faith, just as Ivan embodies the dangers of doubt.

One could read only two chapters of this book, "The Grand Inquisitor"(5-p.279) and "The Devil. Ivan's nightmare"(9-p.733), and have enough to ponder for two lifetimes.

[Christine Convery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read via audiobook for book club. Although there are parts that feel too long or like they belong in a whole different book, overall its still just so good and different from anything else I've read.

[Ron Oltmanns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who could forget a great Russian novel the first time you read one? Dostoyevsky is a great one to read. Complex characters and the clash and debate of great ideas make it worth more than one reading.

[David]

I enjoy reading about this period in Europe. The Brothers Karamazov is about a family that falls into one trouble after another, largely because of the nutty father. I've had this book on my to-read classics list for some time and now I can check another off.

[Neeraj Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

best novel i had ever read in my 22 years of life . if you believe in god read this book. if you does't believe in god read this book . no matter where you from no matter which type you like i just want to say you should have to read this masterpiece.
Love you all.

[Matthew Main · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the theology debates, but a bit like Tolstoy in that he wanders a bit. The parting advice is priceless.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my least favorite translation.

[Natalie Schell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has my whole heart

[Fatima Akthum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dostoyevsky is one of my inspirational writers , this book is incredible , he described intelligently the russian life or precisely the russian family ( i would like to call it a ridiculous family) in a way that makes you as that you live with them , it made me understand how the life was at that epoch (1831 i think ) , i knew the softness of the russian people as he said although they seemed cold and senseless .
Mmmmm!! what else ! aha ! although Fyodor pavlovitch (the father) was so aggressive with his sons , but i didn't hate him though he deserves ; i don't know why , maybe because of his stinginess.
Alyosha (the angel) , it hurted me that he suffered alot , poor alyosha !!!! Demitri wasn't the wise brother although he should be because he is the elder . Ivan ........ his role was not of that important . There were some repeatable paragraphs , words or sentences I don't think it was necessary.
finally i would like to that Fyodor is great and he forced me to like the russian literature, life, culture . I recommend this book with insistence. Enjoy it fully .

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a number of false starts over the last decade, I finally found my way to the end of this behemoth. And having finished it, I now find myself completely unable to be objective rating it, as the sheer amount of hard work involved in getting through has left me feeling like the novel is my literary war buddy.

What I will say, is this: Dosteoyevsky's reputation as a psychologist is well-earned, with the characters in this novel bearing out the best and the worst of human nature in ways that are often painfully raw and well-wrought. However, for me, the insights were too often broken by the (as Nabakov said) "wastelands of literary platitudes," which often stretched for inch-thick sections of the novel. I think this lead to some even sympathetic characters being over-exposed through unnecessary repetition, which ultimately dulled the impact of the underlying story. But even so ... I'm still pleased to have reached the book's satisfying end.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time I've read Dostoyevsky. I loved it. The characters were so complex and real. There was nothing contrived or fantastical about the story and yet it was never mundane. Like life, the events that unfold are complicated and loose ends are left untied, conflicts left unresolved and tragedy seems to even win the day...but there is also goodness that persists through it all from beginning to end and it seems that is enough to make it an overall inspiring and encouraging tale. I assumed when I picked it up that it would be difficult and perhaps obscure or over my head. But it was so accessible and this translation was very easy to read.

[Manan Majithia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hailed as the father of russian fiction,I had high hopes from the author and the image which so obviously precedes him.This book falls just short of making you wonder what is the hullabaloo all about.Exhaustive at over 800 pages it gets insanely drudgery and mundane to the point of repetition.Exploring human facets of greed,envy,lust and materialism,the take home for the reader is immensely powerful.However,the citations and plot deployed by the author to paint the picture is awfully plain and repetitive.Read it for exploring a style of writing but not for savouring a literary genius.

[Mary]

5 stars is not enough; I give it 6 stars at least. This is the best book I've ever read. Unfortunately, I read it 6 months ago and I can't recapture the insights and appreciation I had then. So I will refer to the Wikipedia article

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story. Quite a commentary going on throughout. I think it would be worth my time to read again.