The Karamazov Brothers (Oxford World's Classics) | Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Karamazov Brothers (Oxford World's Classics) | Fyodor Dostoevsky | The most magnificent novel ever written

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The Karamazov Brot...

	The Karamazov Brothers (Oxford World's Classics) Fyodor Dostoevsky Oxford University Press, USA, 1998 - 1054 pages average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Dostoevsky's last and greatest novel, The Karamazov Brothers (1880) is both a brilliantly told crime story and a passionate philosophical debate. The dissolute landowner Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov is murdered; his sons--the atheist intellectual Ivan, the hot-blooded Dmitry, and the saintly novice Alyosha--are all involved at some level. Brilliantly bound up with this psychological drama is Dostoevsky's intense and disturbing exploration of many deeply felt ideas about the existence of God, freedom of will, the collective nature of guilt, and the disastrous consequences of rationalism. Filled with eloquent voices, this new translation fully realizes the power and dramatic virtuosity of Dostoevsky's most brilliant work.

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A tremendous story

This is my first, and I guarantee to myself and to anyone who asks me not the last, Dostoyevsky novel. Dostoevsky brilliantly weaves philosophical debates into a truly dynamic plot, while commenting on his contemporanious world. Despite the social commentary, this story is universal and timeless and has that rare quality that sets it apart from other literature and shoots it up to the rank of the novel, of the kind of book that will last centuries and still shine brightly over the top of entirety of the literary form. The Karamazov Brothers is what the novel should be. I cannot word precisely enough how much I enjoyed this novel.

I recommend this book, the one published by Oxford University Press who writes the clearest and most readable and refreshing translation I have seen (I have looked through many different translations to find one that is not awkwardly worded and explains the text well), and somehow, keeps the prose nuanced and delicate.

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The most magnificent novel ever written

I cannot take credit for the title of my review - apparently, Sigmund Freud said it first, and, while I cannot say that I would agree with Freud on every subject, I must say, unequivocally, that I agree with his statement about The Karamozov Brothers (with the caveat that, of course, I have not read every novel ever written, so, take the statement for what it's worth).

My only lament regarding this novel is that I cannot read Russian directly; however, as the other reviewers of this book have pointed out, the translation by Avsey is brilliant - there is simply no other way to describe it. I first read Dostoevsky in high school - Crime and Punishment, specifically - I devoured it in a few days, if that. I absolutely loved it. Since then, I have gone on to read other Dostoevsky novels, including The Idiot, and, of course, The Karamozov Brothers. Based upon reading these novels, and many others throughout the course of my life, I must say, truly, that The Karamozov Brothers is the most breathtaking novel I have ever had the pleasure to read in regards to scope, vision, and in capturing the human soul via the written word. When Crime and Punishment and The Idiot are warm up novels to something even greater, well, that's saying something.

As for the book itself, Dostoevsky understands humanity. And, more than that, he is able to somehow capture the essence of a person - their thoughts, desires, fears, in a way that, more than any author I have ever read, makes one feel as if one is not reading a novel, but rather, witnessing real events, and real people, struggle with the great mysteries of life. Reading it is like a peering through a window into the human soul.

Does God exist? Is science a complement to or repudiation of religion? Do we have souls? Is any action permitted, or are there fundamental truths about right and wrong that govern the human reality? Are we responsible for our own actions, and, if yes, then to what extent are we responsible? Are we responsible for the actions of others, and, if yes, then to what extent? Is religion a savior or destroyer of humanity?

While these all seem like pie in the sky questions, theoretical, and wishy-washy - they are in fact as relevant today (as evidenced by the furor over evolution vs. creationism/intelligent design, and the relationship of science and religion) as they were in Dostoevsky's time - and, I am sure, have always been and will always be pivotal questions surrounding the human experience. Further, while these questions are at the heart of the novel - the novel is not just about these questions, but about people, their journey, and how these questions impact and interweave with their, and our, daily lives...from how we treat strangers, to how we treat ourselves, and everyone and everything in between.

Life is rarely black and white, if ever, and it is the dichotomy between right and wrong, good and evil, guilt and innocent, taking responsibility vs. abdicating responsibility - that drives all of us, and that makes each of us who and what we are, for better or ill. It is those same forces that drive The Karamozov Brothers as a novel, and make it a crowning achievement and testimonial to the very essence of humanity itself.

Read it.

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Emanates a magnififcent spiritual glow

How do i rate the brothers karamazov? Well, Crime and Punishment is my favorite novel, and so being a true dostoevsky fan, i had high expectations. Crime is still my favorite novel.

To me, Karamazov is a more uneven novel, in that its narrative is more sprawling and less intensly focused as Crime and Punishment, and the opening 200 pages, while very good, where not quite up to the standard this great genius set in his previous novel. However, once the Grand Inquisior chapters comes (to me the greatest literary passage I've ever read), the spiritual and emotional intensity is turned up dramatically. From this point on, the greater plan of the whole novel comes into focus, and never lets up.

Let me emphasize, Brothers Karamazov is a maginificent novel! The experience after finishing it, not only left me supremely happy, it also gave me a feeling of a new love for humanity.

If the narrative is less focused than Crime and P, the characters are just as expertly realized and intense in their behavior. Finally, the terrain of the book is vast, Dostoevsky deals with a number of key spiritual, political, and legal ideas, all in truly masterful fashion.

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Hurrah for Ignat Avsey!

It would be presumptious of me to "review" Dostoevsky's great masterpiece "The Brothers Karamozov" or, as Avsey has convinced me it should be rendered, "The Karamazov Brothers." Yes, it is one of the greatest novels ever, yes, it is life-changing, and yes, it is on that short list of books that should be read before you die. More than a murder mystery of course, it concerns the existence of God, fraternal rivalry, the question of guilt, the condition of Russia and what it means to be Russian.
So, the main question is what translation to choose? As I don't read Russian, my only criteria was how it read in English. Did it flow well, did it maintain interest, was it "literary"? I had sampled the more popular Pevear-Volokhonsky translation, the current Penguin Classics version, and the older Garnett translation too, and while I did not get too far in any of these, Avsey's version gripped me from the start and I ripped right through it on vacation. The Oxford World's Classics edition has much to recommend, including a time chronology, an index of main characters (an absolute necessity, as the same characters are referred to four or five different ways sometimes), and extensive editorial notes. Also, a minor point, but kudos to the printers Clays Ltd. for a superb job of printing, the paperback is a wonderfully crafted work of art!

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reviews: page 1, 2

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