The Brothers Karamazov (Signet Classics) | Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Brothers Karamazov (Signet Classics) | Fyodor Dostoevsky | very small font

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The Brothers Karam...

	The Brothers Karamazov (Signet Classics) Fyodor Dostoevsky Signet Classics, 1999 - 736 pages average customer review:based on 216 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

This novel was Dostoyevsky's last and finest work, telling the story of the four Karamazov brothers--each with his own distinct personality and desires. Driven by intense, uncontrollable emotions of rage and revenge, they all become involved in the brutal murder of their despicable father. Exploring the secret depths of humanity's struggles and sins, Dostoyevsky unfolds a grand epic which attempts to venture into mankind's darkest heart, and grasp the true meaning of existence.

Amazing

"All religions are based upon this desire and I am a believer." He comes as close as any author to expressing truth in fiction.

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very small font

The everyman library edition has very small font. It is a pain to read it.

A review of this edition, not of the novel itself:

Many reviews discuss the novel itself, so I'll just comment on this particular edition: My only complaint with this edition is its tiny margins. This, of course, is not an issue for the outside margins, but because the print is so close to the binding, I had to actually pull the two halves of the book in opposite directions to read the print near the gutter. It sounds like I'm nitpicking, but this book is by no means a quick read. Pulling on a book for a couple of hours every night is more tiring than I would have expected. I read a bit of the new edition -- translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky (Link:)The Brothers Karamazov -- in a bookstore today, and it was so comfortable, that I don't think I fully realized what I had been missing until then.

Other than that, and a few typos here and there, it's not a bad edition if you get a cheap one. I bought mine at a thrift store for 35 cents, so I can't complain. This qualifies as a book worthy of a nice edition, and if I were to read this again, which is quite possible, I would spend the $10-$12 for the Pevear/Volokhonsky.

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GREAT Book, HORRIBLE Font

This is a tremendous story, but you already knew that because of the author. But this version is awful because the font is either 7 or 8 CPI. Considering that this is almost an 800-page book, your vision will be permanently worse if you read this entire book. I understand that it is a long story that they need to keep short, but it's really unhealthy to read a typeface so small.

Consider buying another book if you're not a Christian

Before you buy this edition, use Amazon's Search/Look Inside feature to read the first few pages of all available translations so that you can buy the one you like the most. Buying a bad translation will ruin your experience. I bought Andrew MacAndrew's because the text just flows.

Now a review of the book itself. The main story is good and most of the characters are outstanding, but I'm not a Christian and the book's Christian theme put me off. Besides, Alyosha was such a boring hero, all he did was smile a lot and utter a line once in a while. For some reason, Alyosha never had any internal monologue and it was hard for me to know him. I wonder why the hero was boring while the villain, Fyodor, was so entertaining, even though he could also be annoying. But Dmitry and Ivan were the best characters by far. They may not represent the ideals of Christianity like Alyosha. Who cares? They were much more human and my heart went to them.

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