So I haven’t read Russian literature since high school… I
mostly picked up this book because it was huge and stood out to me. Wheee…
In case you did not pick up on this from the title, the
story follows the 3 brothers Karamazov. Dimitri is the oldest, Ivan, and
finally Alyosha is the youngest. Dimitri is motivated by worldly things like
money and the women that he loves. Ivan is more philosophical but detached, he
thinks a lot but doesn’t really implement. Ivan ends up rejecting God because
of all this useless suffering in the world (but an interesting note is that he
could only come to this conclusion because he loves people). There is a lot of
inner turmoil with him. One of my favorite scenes was him conversing with the
devil, it shows his psyche and how he knows that it is degrading but avoids it.
I don’t know, that was just a fascinating scene since I had no idea what was
happening most of the time. Then there’s Alyosha, who was a monk, and is
motivated by his love for his brothers and the people around him. He largely
reacts to events around him in a way that is influenced by his time spent as a
monk.
You can probably see where this is going. But the resulting
saga combines a courtroom mystery with an intense drama with musings about
life, among other things. It encompasses many topics, and while it centers
around Russia and Russian life, it by no means is exclusive to it.
The ending is ambiguous with regards to the fates of Ivan
and Dimitri. But it seems optimistic that they both will be redeemed somehow.
The book comes out strong for religious force and love in spite of skepticism
and the hate that is rampant among us. One must continue to believe in spite of
these things, otherwise your faith has no meaning.
I enjoyed reading this more than I thought I would. The
characters are original and vivid, with distinct and endearing personalities.
Even the minor characters stand out clearly. And while there are some parts
that require you to think, you find yourself wanting to do it so that you
understand the scenes better.
I’m not usually into classics, but this one turned out to be
an enjoyable read, if heavy at times. I don’t know, maybe I secretly am into
intense Russion novels.
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