The Brothers Karamazov
Ratings275
Average rating4.4
15
Ratings275
Average rating4.4
"I'd die happy if I could finish this final novel, for I would have expressed myself completely." -Dostoevsky.
In 1880 Dosteovsky completed The Brothers Karamazov, the literary effort for which he had been preparing all his life. Compelling, profound, complex, it is the story of a patricide and of the four sons who each had a motive for murder: Dmitry, the sensualist; Ivan, the intellectual; Aloysha, the mystic; and twisted, cunning Smerdyakov, the bastard child. Frequently lurid, nightmarish, always brilliant, the novel plunges the reader into a sordid love triangle, a pathological obsession, and a gripping courtroom drama. But throughout the whole, Dostoevsky searches for the truth - about man, about life, about the existence of God. A terrifying answer to man's eternal questions, this monumental work remains the crowning achievement of perhaps the finest novelist of all time.
(back cover)
Reviews with the most likes.
Desengane-se quem pensa que “Os irmãos Karamázov” é uma narrativa linear e de fácil leitura e interpretação. Trata-se de uma obra longa e pesada, mas que em nada diminui a grandeza e genialidade deste romance.
O livro desenrola-se ao longo de doze livros, em que o enredo se torna cada vez mais cativante e onde se disserta sobre importantes temas filosóficos, sobre religião, livre-arbítrio, moralidade mas também sobre a Rússia czarista e as fragilidades das suas gentes e dos seus sistemas.
Foi dos livros que mais me cativou à medida que ia avançando na sua narrativa, e que se tornou nas leituras mais importantes (e até educativas) que fiz recentemente.
My wife wanted to name our son Aliocha and “made me” read this. By the end of the first hundred pages I was convinced. Absolutely loved it (particularly the devil scene, oh how I love Ivan!).
There is far too much in this book for a simple mind like mine to comprehend. As a straight read it frequently drags like molasses. For this I'd give it two stars. Many of the characters are deeply unlikeable, including at least one, and maybe two, of the brothers Karamazov. For them I'd give it two stars. But The Brothers Karamazov is far greater than any of this superficial stuff. I'm an uneducated lump, so I could only discern it vaguely and remotely. In fact, I had to read Nicholas Berdyaev's “Dostoevsky” to even begin to discern what Dostoevsky was getting at. That book itself was at least 90% over my head, an immensely difficult read, but the 10% I did comprehend shone a light on Dostoevsky and at last I was able to see a little into the vast depths of TBK. After all that, can I say I enjoyed it? Absolutely not. It's a mission to read. It is not light entertainment for a wet weekend. But it might be one of the greatest books I've ever read.
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