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Ava Hall

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Freezing Order: A True Story of Russian Money Laundering, Murder and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath

by Bill Browder (Goodreads Author)

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Feb 23, 2026 04:08PM

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The Brothers Karamazov

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

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read in January 2024

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Ava Hall said: " The concept of trying to write a review for The Brothers Karamazov feels like such a colossal and daunting undertaking, but here we go…

I understand why this is hailed as Dostoevsky’s greatest and most prolific work; his prose, characters, and themati The concept of trying to write a review for The Brothers Karamazov feels like such a colossal and daunting undertaking, but here we go…

I understand why this is hailed as Dostoevsky’s greatest and most prolific work; his prose, characters, and thematic symbolism do nothing if not proclaim his brilliance. Dostoevsky hides the true nature of this work under the simple and unassuming guise of “family drama/murder mystery”. Though that’s the condensed and watered-down version; it’s a sliver of what this novel truly is. The Bros Karamazov (as I’ve lovingly dubbed it in my head) is a philosophical deep dive into the nature of existence. Only a Russian classic would attempt to unpack such an ageless question. Dostoevsky created 3 brothers, each with drastically different answers to this question, and sent them out into the world. The story that unfolds is how each son navigates the struggles he faces and how they reconcile the disconnect between their worldview and their experiences. This was maybe one of the most gut-wrenching and harrowing books I’ve read in ages.

The eldest son, Dmitri, is a thrill-seeker. He seeks out pleasure, instant gratification, and lives for the riding the high, which leads to him being an incredibly impulsive character who fails to think about consequence before acting. Of the three brothers, Dmitri (nicknamed Mitya) is the most turbulent and reckless, so it came to no surprise when I reached the end of the novel and saw how Mitya’s story had played out. In a lot of ways, Mitya represents the stereotypical “human plight” throughout the novel as he’s constantly oscillating between animalism and desiring spiritual redemption–desperately hoping that his soul can be saved from his perpetual folly. His fickleness and lack of relationship permanence is so clearly displayed through both his romantic escapades with Katarina and Grushenka.

Ivan, the middle son, was probably the brother that fascinated me the most. Have I read a more tortured and afflicted genius before? Uncertain. Probably not. Ivan’s brilliance leads to his inner conflict on the existence and nature of God. He is adamant that even if God does, in fact, exist, He is a wrathful, hateful, and evil creator who relishes the suffering of those He’s made. Interestingly, this belief stems from Ivan’s acute love for humanity and the desire for peace, rather than his own suffering. Unlike his elder brother, Ivan doesn’t believe in immortality, arguing that those who do are only seeking eternal pleasure and exemption from pain (two things which speak quite clearly to who Mitya is). A portion of Ivan’s character comes from his fear of becoming like his father, Fyodor Pavlovich, a lustful and despicable man who feasts on other’s vulnerability. Ultimately, Ivan’s adamancy in God being a malevolent god leads to his descent into madness. His inability to find and grasp onto hope is what makes him tortured and full of despair. I do love the open-ended nature of his story because it allows the reader to hope for a better and more fulfilling future for him.

The last brother and youngest son, Alexei (or more commonly referred to as Alyosha) is the protagonist for our novel. Alyosha is so vasty unlike his brothers. He is a devout man of faith, wise beyond his years, selfless, and possesses an innate hope for mankind. Often perceived as naive or sheltered by his brothers, Alyosha continually shows the reader that he is neither of those things; he sees the evil and hate surrounding him and yet chooses not to partake. Over and over in the book, Alyosha forgives his brothers and father for repeated offences against him and those he loves. He holds no resentfulness or bitterness, but he is not someone who is taken advantage of. Dostoevsky makes it clear that though Alyosha is gentle-spirited and good at heart, he is no less respected in his community or family for being so. Interestingly, Alyosha presents very little of the action in this story given that he’s the protagonist. Instead, he acts as a foil to his brothers, a light to the reader, and I imagine a depiction of how Dostoevsky wanted fellow Russians to see the world in light of recent hardships and tragedies. Though Dostoevsky portrays all 3 brothers journeys to enlightenment and understanding, he does clearly paint Alyosha as having the superior path.

The last character that I feel I have to address is Fyodor Pavlovich: the Karamazov brothers’ good-for-nothing, despicable, and disgusting father. Touted as one of the most horrible men in literature, he truly lives up to that title. In many ways, Pavlovich is a conglomeration of all of son’s worst character traits exemplified. I did appreciate that almost every character he interacted with clearly loathed him as much as the reader was supposed to. His greediness, coarse vulgarity, and lewd and lustful remarks further displayed the kind of man he was. His character was the opposite to what many wealth patriarchs are portrayed as, and yet it didn’t feel ill-suited. The thing that really stuck out to me was how he and Mitya were both pursuing the same woman (Grushenka) simultaneously (though that’s an entirely different conversation involving Grushenka’s complete apathy towards honesty, being honourable, and her desire for immediate pleasure and happiness).

I’ve found that many of the Russian classics that I’ve read tend towards being dark, heavy, and full of inner rage, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that The Bros Karamazov is actually a very wondrous story of hope and true redemption. It was beautiful, sad, and felt like a horrific punch to the stomach most of the time, but I wouldn’t change the story at all. I will point out that this book covers some dark themes and is, at times, very descriptive regarding depictions of child abuse (among others). I don’t find myself bothered by many things in literature, but I was standing open-mouthed, horrified, and sick by some of the paragraphs. I’m not exaggerating when I say I was almost sick to my stomach by some of the narration.

This book is certainly a task (and a half), but I do encourage more people to pick it up and work their way through it. 4.5/5 ...more "

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(page 526 of 796)
"crazy that we're only JUST hitting the murder trial now haha" — Feb 24, 2026 06:40AM

Jan 13, 2024 08:34AM · see review

Ava’s Quotes

“No one would lift a weapon. No one would fight or flee. Just this night, just this moment, they had entered a liminal space where their past and future did not matter, where they could be the children they used to be.”
― R.F. Kuang, The Burning God

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