The Borthers Karamazov is a dense philosophical novel, of the sort only Dostoyevsky is capable of writing. It is often acclaimed to be his best work. The tale is set in 1800s Russia, consisting of: three brothers, their amoral father, and a tragic murder. Each brother represents a worldview. Dmitri, the eldest, is the hedonistic sensualist, who while he may claim to believe in God, lives subject to his impulsive passions. Middle child Ivan is the atheist intellectual who sports the “everything is permissible” moral ideology Dostoyevsky is most critical of, though Ivan thankfully does not live by the philosophy he promotes. Only the sickly Smerdyakov has the courage to fully enact the conclusions of Ivan’s worldview. Alyosha, the youngest, represents the Christian worldview as he follows in the vein of his great Elder Father Zossima, who I can only gather sports much of Dostoyevsky’s personal beliefs: sacrificial living, the brotherhood of humanity, the forgiveness and the suffering modeled by Jesus. So by clothing worldviews in human flesh, The Brothers Karamazov is truly a unique way to study beliefs and the implications of those beliefs. Dostoyevsky cleverly disguises his thinking as a novel, which makes him free to delve into the natural consequences of each worldview, show what happens when they clash with each other, and give a clue as to which holds the keys to deliverance in the future. He also displays an incredible cross-section of the complexity of the human mind, as well as the contradictory natures that are in the best and worst of us. And while Brothers Karamazov is a profound work, and rightly recognized as such, I admit that I struggled to fully understand and appreciate the weight of Dostoyevsky’s writing. I could track with the plot, and could identify the characters, I could even discern some of the undertones—but upon finishing the book I could only feel that I left sufficient meat on the bone. Without giving too many more spoilers, I could not understand why Dostoyevsky ended it the way that he did, or why the verdict of the trial was the way that it was, or why certain things befell certain characters. There is much in this book that I KNEW had a deeper meaning to, but for whatever reason went over my head. Still, I will not lower the rating of this book due to my own limitations. Dostoyevsky is an incredible thinker, and while I personally found Crime and Punishment to be more enjoyable and discernible—Brothers Karamazov is still worthy of the praise it garners.
