The Brothers Karamazov
by Fyodor Dostoevsky · Братья Карамазовы
Assigned by 5 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1880
- Form
- Novel
- Language
- Russian
- Length
- Epic · 800 ppover 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Difficult4 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Brothers Karamazov, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa VolokhonskyFarrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002Close to the Russian and the translation most programs now assign; Garnett is the one in the Great Books set.
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Dostoevsky's last novel. The dissolute landowner Fyodor Karamazov has three sons, the passionate soldier Dmitri, the intellectual Ivan and the novice monk Alyosha, and possibly a fourth, the servant Smerdyakov. Dmitri and his father compete for the same woman and quarrel over money. When Fyodor is murdered, Dmitri is arrested and tried, though the real killer was inspired by Ivan's argument that if God does not exist everything is permitted. The book contains the Grand Inquisitor parable and the life of the elder Zosima.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Brothers Karamazov are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
