The Brothers Karamazov (Paperback)

by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Author), Richard Pevear (Translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator) "Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov was the third son of a landowner from our district, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, well known in his own day (and still remembered..." (more)
Key Phrases: little demon, boy across the ditch, pan with the pipe, The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan Fyodorovich, Fyodor Pavlovich (more...)

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
-- Review

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

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Paperback: 824 pages Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (June 14, 2002) Language: English ISBN-10: 0374528373 ISBN-13: 978-0374528379 Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (122 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,389 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #1 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Eastern European #1 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics > Russian #1 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Dostoevsky, Fyodor

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First Sentence:
Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov was the third son of a landowner from our district, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, well known in his own day (and still remembered among us) because of this dark and tragic death, which happened exactly thirteen years ago and which I shall speak of in its proper place. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
little demon, boy across the ditch, pan with the pipe, brass pestle, talented prosecutor, tall pan, falling fit, exclaimed ruefully, thousand roubles, ten roubles, old buffoon

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan Fyodorovich, Fyodor Pavlovich, Dmitri Fyodorovich, Katerina Ivanovna, Alexei Fyodorovich, Nikolai Parfenovich, Pyotr Ilyich, Madame Khokhlakov, Father Paissy, Pyotr Alexandrovich, Marfa Ignatievna, Ippolit Kirillovich, Father Ferapont, Agrafena Alexandrovna, Grigory Vasilievich, Maria Kondratievna, Kuzma Kuzmich, Trifon Borisich, Mikhail Makarovich, Pan Vrublevsky, Dmitri Karamazov, Father Superior, Trifon Borisovich, Father Zosima

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 28 books:

• Brothers Karamazov (Barnes & Noble Classics) by Fyodor M. Dostoevsky on 11 pages
• The Diary of a Writer by Fedor Mikhalovich Dostoevsky in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
• Dead Souls by N. Gogol on page 422, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
• Dead Souls (Dodo Press) by Nikolai Gogol on page 422, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
• Dead Souls (Classiques Russes) (Russian Edition) by Nikolai Vasil'evich Gogol on page 422, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)

See all 28 books this book cites

 

100 books cite this book:

• Children's Right to Freedom, Care and Enlightenment (Garland Reference Library of Social Science) by Bertram Bandman on 11 pages
• The House as a Symbol: Joyce Cary and 'the Turkish House' (Costerus NS 55) (Costerus New Series) by Barbara Fisher on 7 pages
• Writings on Art and Literature (Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics) by Sigmund Freud on 6 pages
• The Cambridge Companion to Modern Russian Culture (Cambridge Companions to Culture) by Nicholas Rzhevsky on 6 pages
• Modern Russian Theology: Bukharev, Soloviev, Bulgakov: Orthodox Theology in a New Key by Paul Valliere on 5 pages

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The Karamazov Brothers by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Discusses:

• two hieromonks
• Ivan Fyodorovich
• Fyodor Pavlovich

The Karamazov Brothers by Fyodor Dostoevsky Discusses: two hieromonks Ivan Fyodorovich Fyodor Pavlovich Loading...

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Customer Reviews

122 Reviews 5 star:  (105) 4 star:  (8) 3 star:  (7) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.8 out of 5 stars (122 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 202 of 211 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 "journal-ist" (Osaka, Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)       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+. 37 of 38 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars the best translation, July 3, 2003 By A Customer I'm not going to comment on the novel itself - I don't think anyone just casually stumbles on a book so famous, you already know something about what you're getting into. But I have to say this translation is the best I've read. I started with the Signet edition and switched to this one about 1/3 of the way through, and the improvement was obvious. A friend was reading the Oxford edition at the same time as me, and I preferred this one to the Oxford too. I found this translation to be very lively, with natural and believable storytelling. It also had a lot of little sylistic oddities that the Signet translation didn't - I assume they tried to "polish" Dostoevsky's writing style at the expense of his interesting voice. So if you want to read Karamazov but don't know what version to buy, get this one. 24 of 25 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Six stars? Please?, January 16, 2007 By  Jason Cigan (Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    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.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars A prophecy and a moving story. The Brothers Karamazov is first, a coming of age story of Alyosha Karamazov from a naive novice in the monastery to a leader whose rousing sermon at the rock is the culmination of... Read more Published 1 month ago by Neil Landis 5.0 out of 5 stars Wow This novel has moved and engaged me in a way only a masterpiece can. Mr. Dostoevsky, God bless your soul, from the bottom of my heart I thank you for The Brothers Karamazov. Published 2 months ago by J.M. 5.0 out of 5 stars It wasn't the other guy either Smerdyakov didn't do it. He confessed to Ivan, it's true, but why should we take his word for it? Perhaps it was Ivan and only Ivan who was the true object of his hate, and... Read more Published 3 months ago by Archie P 3.0 out of 5 stars Great Novel, Overrated Translation. Read MacAndrew Instead. The novel itself is brilliant -- one of the best. To praise the novel would be redundant and pointless. I want to talk about the translation. Read more Published 3 months ago by S. Thompson 5.0 out of 5 stars Russian's Question of God The Karamzov family came with a reputation of living life to its fullest with a reckless abandoned to wholesomeness and integrity towards another's well being. Read more Published 5 months ago by Paul M. Murphy 5.0 out of 5 stars This is by far the deepest book i've ever read... INSANITY anyone who doesn't read the brothers karamazov is depriving himself of one of the most intimate explorations of the human psyche and soul ever to grace this planet. Read more Published 5 months ago by V. Pierce 5.0 out of 5 stars To be read & re-read. Dostoevsky. Possibly the greatest novelist that has graced our planet. A maelstrom of philosophical & psychological drama. A tormented delicacy for the serious reader. Published 6 months ago by Grast Moribund 2.0 out of 5 stars Ackward translation I read this moving story while in the service many, many years ago and quickly became a fan of Dostoevsky. What is there to say about the tale that could lead to exaggeration? Read more Published 7 months ago by J. Walsh 5.0 out of 5 stars I occupy myself with this mystery because I want to be a man Anyone interested in the central question facing mankind will find `The Brothers Karamazov' an essential guide. Read more Published 7 months ago by Eric Robert Morse 5.0 out of 5 stars The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky Yeah you've got to read Dostoyevsky's Brothers Karamazov Yes I know its long (indeed, it was intended to be the first book of a trilogy) and the names can be hard... Read more Published 8 months ago by Joseph Morris Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 824 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (June 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374528373
• ISBN-13: 978-0374528379
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,389 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Eastern European
  #1 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics > Russian
  #1 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Dostoevsky, Fyodor

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

202 of 211 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 "journal-ist" (Osaka, Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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+.

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best translation, July 3, 2003

By A Customer

I'm not going to comment on the novel itself - I don't think anyone just casually stumbles on a book so famous, you already know something about what you're getting into. But I have to say this translation is the best I've read. I started with the Signet edition and switched to this one about 1/3 of the way through, and the improvement was obvious. A friend was reading the Oxford edition at the same time as me, and I preferred this one to the Oxford too. I found this translation to be very lively, with natural and believable storytelling. It also had a lot of little sylistic oddities that the Signet translation didn't - I assume they tried to "polish" Dostoevsky's writing style at the expense of his interesting voice. So if you want to read Karamazov but don't know what version to buy, get this one.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Jason Cigan (Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.