Reviews

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

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sidharthvardhan's review against another edition

5.0

Here is a list of admirers of this book: Albert Einstein,Franz Kafka, Albert Camus (who discussed it in his essay 'Myth of Sisyphus'), Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, Cormac McCarthy, Kurt Vonnegut, Sigmund Freud ... Sigmund Freud! He called it "the most magnificent novel ever written" and was fascinated with the book for its Oedipal themes.

The narrator wanders around taking us to different and at times distant characters - many of which have no direct influence over the central story. Each character has his own philosophy - there are believers like Zosima and there are atheists like Ivan openly toying with satanic ideas like grand inquisitor. In fact Devil himself must pay a visit to Ivan - although Ivan refused to believe his existence for that would have meant he must believe in god too. They all have their own ideas of what future will be like. The novels predicts the individualism and materialism that is prevailing in present times. Here is my favorite paragraph about one one of brothers that could be true for most of us today:

"...Oh, he, too, can be good and noble, but only when all goes well with him. What is more, he can be carried off his feet, positively carried off his feet by noble ideals, but only if they come of themselves, if they fall from heaven for him, if they need not be paid for. He dislikes paying for anything, but is very fond of receiving, and that's so with him in everything. Oh give him every possible good in life (he couldn't be content with less), and put no obstacle in his way, and he will show that he, too, can be noble. He is not greedy, no, but he must have money, a great deal of money, and you will see how generously, with what scorn of filthy lucre, he will fling it all away in the reckless dissipation of one night. .."

When we are not talking about philosophy, we are talking about psychology. Fyodor Dostoyevsky must had been a compulsive psychologist. Not only the characters in the novel but he must also comment about Othello. Oedipus complex, parricide, trauma, hysterics, hallucinations, crime psychology.... you name it. The three brothers are all sensualists and sensualist to a fault. They can turn from one extreme of mood and beliefs to another extreme in no time.

Finally, there is a small murder mystery and a trail - but only in later half. The book ends with Alyosha (who like us is exposed to all those philosophies) and his conclusions are too simple - that only way to love humanity is to love humans (rather than thinking ideas of greater good) and that one must keep in mind a happy memory from childhood and keep it in his mind for rest of his life to make life bearable. (Perhaps that was difference between Alyosha and other two -that only Alyosha of three had a happy memory in his life.) FD had planned a sequel - the second one was supposed to be the main one ... It is like Kafka all over again. Still first part is complete in itself showing importance of holding on to basics if life - and is one of best books I ever read.