The Brothers Karamazov (original 1880; edição 2002)

The plane where faith and morality tend to meet is deeply shaken and bent in Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. A familial tale of anguish and madness exacerbated by financial desperation and daddy issues, a taste of deceit runs through every elation brought by hedonistic inclinations and lethal romantic undertakings as grudges continue to accumulate in the background. More than a novel about the struggle with belief and nonbelief, it is also a psychological and philosophical examination of humanity; how one's way of presenting and carrying one's self mostly determines reputation, capability, more so the truth and lie beheld through one's actions and decisions. The Brothers Karamazov’s unexpected turns and twists in its engrossingly lengthy family affair mould it into disquieting and gripping suspense. This eventually shoves its paragraphs into a somewhat nicely-executed courtroom drama if not for a semi-dull and hypothetically concluded recollection of events through one of its side characters. Indeed other than its intriguing take on the justification of suffering, what further strengthens this highly-esteemed classic is its dimensional set of characters, though mostly unlikable (and some of them may not even warrant any kind of pity and understanding), recognisable through some of our encounters and intimate relations. And albeit with an end asking for a lot more, even a possibility of another story, The Brothers Karamazov is an excellently weaved and spiritually piercing page-turner of a classic. ( )

Hard, painful read...one of the hardest books I have read but I really liked it...I don't know, maybe I will change my rating if I ever get brave enough to read it again! ( )

A ponderous Russian book, though not as ponderous as I had expected (pretty much exactly as Russian as I had expected). It's a bit overwrought as these books tend to be, but there are some really good chapters. I didn't love it, but I'm glad I read it. ( )

The character list is long, the action scarce, and the conversations deep, obscure, and meandering. I’m reminded of a chess master explaining at great detail all of the failed, but interesting lines of attack and defense before finally revealing the logical and most accurate play we should have aspired to...

I have to admit that I am always a little wary of reviewing classic literature, in the same fashion that I approach anything from a "Top Ten" list, or bestsellers. There is a certain expectation that, everyone has found something profound or enlightening in this work, so what happens if I completely miss out on it? I honestly did not know anything about "The Brothers Karamazov" other than that it was a big fat Russian novel and would probably last at least through one cross-continental flight. I did manage to finish it by the end of my trip, but will wait to revisit it in a more coherent fashion before attempting any analysis or extrapolation. ( )