Francesca Danielle’s Reviews > The Brothers Karamazov > Status Update

Ivan and Alyosha getting along is so sweet, honestly. Hearing Ivan’s personal views was interesting—to cast aside the world and not believing in a God-made one. How life is meant to be lived in belief, but Ivan has none whatsoever. Walking contradiction.

Snegirev and Ilyusha are so.. soo [grips with force]! I enjoyed reading about Snegirev and his family. They felt like a real and tangible family that you could find in Russia. I loved this chapter—“Heartbreak Outdoors”—as well!

“Heartbreak in the Drawing Room” has got to be my favorite chapter of all time. It really shows how every character is a walking contradiction. I loved how raw all the lines felt! Especially from Katerina and Ivan. Katerina using Dmitry to soother her pride was excellent. Ivan recognizing that he was an instrument was just as good. He doesn’t want to be used like Katerina. Ohhh, that was so very good.

Smerdyakov is slowly growing on me. Help!

Dostoevsky, I’m begging you to keep going with the parallels.

This time, you put two queens against each other (Zosima and Ivan) and show that their differences run even to their core philosophies. As to who I am more similar with, well. I have no idea. Humanity is tricky, fully loving it is trickier. I can certainly see where both sides are coming from though. But, the general vs specific is so good <3

Funny how even the “best” of the Karamazovs is just as terrible as the rest of them. What a cursed family, shackled to their passions and emotions—even the most rational of the brothers is swayed by love and desire. How very fun ❤️

Man, the convoluted love triangle. The summary did /not/ lie at all.

Funny how all the Karamazovs are all such interesting characters and how Ivan is so similar to Fyodor. Maybe that’s why they’re so close. Alyosha’s reverence to Zosima is quite sweet. Premature mourning hit home—why grieve what is still alive? Very nice chapter, honestly

Ivan really is so cerebral. The Church absorbing the State instead of the other way around really surprised me. I’m not going to pretend and say that I understand what he’s saying, but this concept that was suddenly turned on its head is really so interesting? Dostoevsky is able to find novel ways to show common themes. I literally want to study this man under a microscope.

I seriously don’t know how Dostoevsky can talk so candidly about love through dialogue alone. It shows that you can say less and mean more, especially when it comes to the character of the one speaking. I love how truth and love are juxtaposed. Zosima is right—how can you love what seems like a lie? Is that truly love, or would deceiving yourself into believing it was suffice?

You are crazy for writing this.