The Brothers Karamazov

[MadArchitect]

Having finished the last novel I was reading, I'm now gearing up to tackle Dostoevsky's monster, "The Brothers Karamazov". We've run across "Brothers" a number of times on BookTalk -- this is the book that gave our culture the famous principle that, if there is no god, all things are permitted. If anyone is interested in discussing it, let me know, and I'll try to translate my thoughts into conversation. This is the edition I'll be using.

[Why]

I would be starting a little late, but if you are not too far into it I will get started and catch up. Let me know what you think so far, and if you are still wanting to discuss "The Brothers Karamazov".

Dostoevsky is a little "heavy" for winter, but I'm in the market for something big and thought-provoking, so I thought I would dive in. Besides, I'm a sucker for a post with no reply!

Give me some of your impressions, and I will get busy "turning pages"

[MadArchitect]

You won't be far behind at all. I've only read through the first book, which mostly introduces the Karamazov family and the setting. So far, however, I'm blown away.

And it's funny you should say that it's a bit heavy for winter. Most people look for lighter reading during the summer. And from what I've heard, the Russians use books like this to get them through the winter. It's something to brood on during the long stretches when it's too cold to do much else.

But I'll be glad to have someone else to compare notes with. Be forewarned, though, that I'll probably move pretty slowly. I've made a habit of only rarely reading more than one chapter a day. If I want to read more (and I usually do), I typically switch it up and read a chapter from some other book. With "Karamazov", since it's so long, I'll probably pick up the pace a little, but not much.

[Why]

...encouraging brooding in the naturally darkest part of the year. Well, we'll see where it leads my brain to pondering. I will be interested to see how my perspective changes depending on how long it takes to get through it, as the days lengthen. As a comparison, however, it took me about 6 weeks to finish Les Miserables last summer.

I will get cracking on book one. In the mean time, tell me what is blowing you away. Don't worry about spoiling anything.

I read more than one book at a time as well. Right now....ugh....I think I have 5.

[MadArchitect]

Yeah, I'm somewhere in the vicinity of 5 books at the moment, as well.

Mostly I'm enthralled with the characters, and the dynamic between them. Already I have a feel for the sheer force of possibility arising between them, without feeling confident that I know what will happen (except for, of course, the much-publicized murder). And I love Dostoevsky's narrative voice in this book, much more, I have to say, than in some of the other fiction I've read by him.

We'll get into more detail once you've started reading.

[Why]

I was immediately entertained by his distinction between stupidity and senselessness. Fyodor Pavlovitch and Ivan share this common characteristic.

The three sons could not be more different. I wonder if there is a reason Dostoevsky chose to have different mothers for the first and the two younger sons? Since he didn't develop the characters of the wives to any extent, I wonder what the significance may be, especially since he later had Fyodor giving money to the monestary for requims to his first wife, not the second. It seems to be important that there were 2 wives, but I cannot come up with a reason yet.

As a general rule, people, even the wicked, are much more naive and simple-hearted than we suppose. And we ourselves are, too.

So far my favorite quote.

It is also interesting that he writes:

It is of that brother Alexey I find it most difficult to speak in this introduction.

And then goes on to describe him in more physical detail than any of the other characters besides Fyodor...devoting most of the entire next chapter to him...

And why the different names? Mitya/Dmitri, Alyosha/Alexey?

This is definitely not as heavy as Crime and Punishment (which trudged along), either in character or "atmosphere." So far a very enjoyable read!

[MadArchitect]

Let's agree to start each post with the title of the chapter we're on, so that we always know whether or not the other person has moved ahead and is in danger of spoiling something for us. It's been a busy week, so I'm still stalled at the end of the last chapter of the first book, "The Elders".

Incidentally, what edition are you reading? I'm using the newest Penguin addition. There seem to be some differences in translation. Not necessarily a bad thing, it might help us fathom some of the more difficult passages to compare the differences in translation.

The two different mothers makes for at least one interesting contrast. Alyosha (the youngest brother) seems to feel a much closer affinity to the oldest brother, despite feeling that he should feel closer to the brother with which he shares a mother. So the relationships between the brothers are not defined exclusively by blood relation. I suspect that the dynamic between full brother and half-brother will play a part in complicating matter further on.

As for the multiple names, I'd say the difference is between formal address and familar. That's pretty obvious on an objective level, I suppose, but it isn't always immediately obvious why it should make a difference. Am I right in thinking that the narrator almost always refers to the youngest brother by his familiar, rather than formal name? By contrast, the middle brother is usually referred to not only be his formal name, but by his patronym as well, despite the fact that all three of them, according to custom, share the middle name Fyodorvich.

[Why]

I am reading a Constance Garnett translation. So far it seems pretty standard, but I have read that she can muddle things up a little. I'll look up the comparison, but I don't think it will make much difference in the overall experience.

Don't worry about pace. This is definitely going to be a book I can chew on for a while I've already read book 1 twice (I do that).

[Chris OConnor]

I've got a copy of this book in my Easton Press collection, but I'm reading too damn much to bite off any more.

[Randy Kadish]

In my opinion, "The Brothers" is one of the greatest books ever written, even though I found the first few hundred pages hard to get into.

Dostoyevsky may have been a sloppy writer, but he was a writer who went through a lot in life and who therefore had something to say.

I find that so many acclaimed writers may write well, but in the end there work is much ado about nothing.

Randy Kadish