The Brothers Karamazov [Paperback]

Fyodor Dostoevsky (Author), Richard Pevear (Translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2002

The award-winning translation of Dostoevsky's last and greatest novel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Dostoevsky is] at once the most literary and compulsively readable of novelists we continue to regard as great . . . The Brothers Karamazov stands as the culmination of his art--his last, longest, richest and most capacious book. [This] scrupulous rendition can only be welcomed. It returns to us a work we thought we knew, subtly altered and so made new again."--Donald Fanger, Washington Post Book World

"It may well be that Dostoevsky's [world], with all its resourceful energies of life and language, is only now--and through the medium of this translation--beginning to come home to the English-speaking reader." --John Bayley, The New York Review of Books

"Heartily recommended to any reader who wishes to come as close to Dostoevsky's Russian as it is possible."--Joseph Frank, Princeton University

"Far and away the best translation of Dostoevsky into English that I have seen . . . faithful . . . extremely readable . . . gripping."--Sidney Monas, University of Texas

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 796 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (June 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374528373
• ISBN-13: 978-0374528379
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (258 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Movements & Periods > Gothic & Romantic
  • #57 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

338 of 351 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Could be no less than five stars. July 9, 2004

By Daniel C. Wilcock

Format:Paperback

I cannot compare this translation to the others. Like most mortals, I rarely read 800 page books more than once. However, I can attest that The Brothers Karamazov, as translated here, combines the moving human drama we expect from Dostoevsky with liberal dose of wry humor. The text seems modern and fresh, the circumstances and petty humor surrounding the characters so central to the human predicament that the story is timeless.

And what a story: It is (among many things) a satire of human corruption, a meditation on faith and religious institutions in an age of skepticism, a murder mystery involving love triangles, a courtroom thriller and in the end a testament to the goodness and bravery humans are capable of.

The story follows the lives of old man Karamazov, a filthy penny-pinching lech and his three sons. Each son represents a different side to the Russian character: Dimitri the spoiled lout (or the prodigal son), Ivan the tortured intellect, and Alyosha the spiritual searcher.

Alyosha, Dostoevsy says, is our hero. And he does represent a certain Christian ideal. He, in the end, stands for brotherhood and meekness in the face of temptation. These qualities, no doubt, are what Dostoevsky suggests will preserve and redeem the Russian nation. All around Alyosha is the carnage caused by people who are not awake to this truth -- and they wallow in suffering.

This book, the last Dostoevsky wrote, also presents an intricate political/religious landscape. We see Russia on the brink of socialist forment, and the church is not spared in the skepitism of characters like Ivan, who, in the 'Grand Inquisitor' chapter, presents the most spine tingling critique of organized religion I've ever read.

But, after 800 pages Brothers Karamazov is a book that burns so brightly and is so capable of moving a reader that the book's cost will seem paltry and the reader who comes through will find his or her knowledge of the human soul expanded. A+.

120 of 126 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It slowly changed my life. It's still haunting me. July 27, 2000

By Igor Otshelnik

Format:Paperback

I think I am going to read this wonderful book again. There is so much life and passion in it, that reading it again will definitely enrich my soul even further.

I want to tell you how this novel changed my life. It was recommended to me by a Russian Orthodox priest who considered it the best source of Russian Orthodox spirituality in literature. So I read it. I read it because at the time I was striving to become a true Orthodox Christian myself. The result, however, turned out the opposite: I lost any faith I ever had in the truth of the Church and all its dogmas. This book gave me an idea that if there is God, it is certainly not what we are taught He is.

I think that in this work Dostoevsky reached the very height of what I would call "a war with oneself". He created this unforgettable contrast between what he wanted to believe (and, indeed believed at times) and what he actually was going through in his spiritual search, which were probably indescribable spiritual torments of doubt. I now have this indelible image of Ivan confiding in Alesha, arguing with Satan and, at last, denying God himself in his search for the truth. It was he, who stirred my whole being and it was Dostoevsky himself speaking through Ivan with the most profound sincerety and desperation.

On the opposite, Dostoevsky introduces Alyosha, who didn't doubt, but just loved and believed. This young man, according to Dostoevsky's plan, is a prototype of Jesus Christ himself, a man in whom the truth is open within, a man through whom one can truly feel God's love. It is a fascinating character, although, Dostoevsky depicts him in the light of Christian Orthodoxy, as an example of TRUE spirituality, as opposed to any other spirituality. Nevertheless, if we were to take liberties in the interpretation of the work, put the dogmas aside and look at Alyosha as a human being, then we could boldly say, that this young man IS the embodiment of love, truth and godliness. I really would want to at least resemble such a person!

And in the midst of this spiritual struggle, there is murder, treachery, repentance, love and comedy, which bring the characters out into your own life. I just love this book! I love the brothers, even though they are so different! There are so many things to love "The Brothers Karamazov" for, but it is for this brave, but nevertheless desperate challenge to our faith, and at the same time, a great example of living it, that I praise this book so highly. It is truly as rich, thought-provoking and awe-inspiring as life itself.

P.S. I highly recommend the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. It is the most correct and true to the spirit of the book translation available. By the way, they also translated "Crime and Punishment", "The Demons", "Notes from the Underground" and lots more, so I recommend those as well. And if you really would like to get the feel of how Dostoevsky DID NOT write, try the translation by Constance Garnett! It is outdated and, frankly, in some places she took liberties at what to leave and what to take out. I read "The Brothers Karamazov" in Russian and English, going line-by-line sometimes and discovering those literary atrocities all along the text.

115 of 125 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Six stars? Please? January 16, 2007

By Jason Cigan

Format:Paperback

If a greater novel than THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV has ever been written, I haven't found it yet.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, unquestionably among the greatest novelists of all time, finished his literary career on an emphatic note, publishing KARAMAZOV only a few months before his death. Herein are all of the masterful themes, motifs, and devices of Dostoevsky's earlier works, all converging in one culminating masterpiece: the chilling, penetrating introspection and gut-wrenching humanity of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT; the contrary depiction of man's capability to do good of THE IDIOT; the intrigue and dark satire of DEMONS; and the existentialistic inquisitiveness and philosophical investigation patent to NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND. Throw in an impeccably diverse and symbolic cast of characters; a gripping plot; and an inumberable quantity of subplots, moral struggles, and ideological discussion, and the end result is an epic tragedy that will evoke, throughout its course, the full range of emotions of its reader.

KARAMAZOV prominently features the most thoroughly unsympathetic literary character since... well, does Satan from THE BIBLE count? This character is the patriarch of the eponymous siblings, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, and he is everything that is detestable and despicable about human nature: a liar, an adulterer, a penny-pincher, an absent father, a womanizer, and possibly worse. He has fathered four children (presumably; the novel accounts for three and hints at a fourth), and raised none of them. But that's not the worst of what he's done. What is? Well, I won't spoil it for you now.

The four brothers of the title each represent a different embodiment of the Russian spirit and, by extension, the human spirit. The eldest, Mitya, is a materialist, a sensualist, or whatever other euphemism you choose to use in place of "playboy". Ivan, the next oldest, is an intellectual, an atheist, and an idealist--he is the most prosperous and practical of the brothers. Alyosha, the half-brother of Mitya and Ivan, is the kindly, spiritual, and caring Karamazov; Dostoevsky considers Alyosha to be the novel's protagonist. Smerdyakov, the suspected fourth brother, is sly, meddling, and cruel. Everyone should be able to find all of the chief traits of his or her self amongst these four brothers--they are a brilliant microcosm of all mankind.

KARAMAZOV will keep you riveted and engaged despite its notable length and density. It is at once a murder mystery, a psychological thriller, a courtroom drama, a philosophical journey, and an intellectual masterwork. From the haunting religious criticism of Ivan's prose poem "The Grand Inquistor" to the satirical brilliance of "The Devil" to the ambiguously concise, emotionally overwhelming finale, this is pure genius. It's just a shame that Dostoevsky died before he could complete the trilogy of which KARAMAZOV was meant to only be the beginning.

I can hardly begin to describe how profoundly this novel affected me. I completed it at the age of 16, just as I began my senior year of high school. In the mere six months since, I have devoted the majority of my free time to reading and studying literature--largely thanks to the influence of Dostoevsky. The influence of this novel has been felt in all facets of world culture: KARAMAZOV has earned accolades from Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, and Pope Benedict XVI, among millions of others--myself just one of them. I can't emphasize strongly enough how outstanding THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV is.