Customer Reviews

Dostoevsky's the Brothers Karamazov (Cliffs Notes)

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At over 1000 pages of rich complexity, "The Brothers Karamazov" is much to absorb without an instructor. The notes were quite valuable to me, as one not well versed in Dostoevsky's own opinions or in Russian history and culture during the 1800s, leading up to the revolution. If I were reading the novel as part of a class, as opposed to being a middle-aged person reading on my own, then there would be more context provided, discussion with the class, and suitable parallel research. Hence, I drew on the Cliff Notes for supporting information and sharp analysis to help avoid being overwhelmed by the novel.

The book is only 90 pages, and I was impressed with the summaries and the commentary, which I would read after finishing major sections. Many times I found myself agreeing or picking up thoughts or explanations I never would have determined on my own. This is not a simple novel where you can skip a bunch of material and still get the essence. Therefore, I have no guilt at all for using the notes, and I suggest other readers consider doing the same if they are hesitating before the magnitude of Brothers K.

The notes' summaries were handy for reviewing where I had been, as I read BK over the span of nearly three weeks, and for going back to check some details about the plot and its themes.

Keep in mind that some characters' names and quoted phrases may differ from the translation used in the notes, which won't be a problem.

Notes are essential for this great russian novel. It will take anybody at least a few hundred pages to reslize who evybody is, with those wierd russian names, but the notes eliminate that. Also since this book is very long you might forget something from the begining or you just might stop reading it for a while, which makes these notes very helpful