The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a Russian literary novel first published in 1880. The version I’ve read, newly translated in 2024, is from Michael R. Katz. I first heard of this novel after having read The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong, in which the main character attempts to read the hefty novel. I got interested for some reason, looked it up, and decided to give it a go. At almost 900+ pages, in addition to the fact that it was first published in 1880, I knew it would likely be tough reading. I entrusted the translator to make the novel a bit more accessible, although I obviously had no idea what this would entail, being that I’ve never read the author’s previous works. Being that The Brothers Karamazov is one of the most celebrated novels from the popular author, in addition to it being his last, I rolled the dice. I still can’t believe I’ve managed to finish it about a month after having started. What a story and journey this came out to be.

At the very core, what I can say is that the story itself can seem simple. If one simply looks up the synopsis of the novel, it doesn’t seem that complex at all. However, one would be a fool to actually think that going in. The 900+ pages should have been a fair warning. While yes, the issue between the Karamazov brothers, namely between Dmitry and his father, Fyodor, can be summed up as jealousy over a woman’s love, the themes explored throughout the entire novel cannot be considered as anything but simple. Here we deal with religion, faith, good vs evil, paternal love, human consciousness, societal behavior, greed, jealousy, and more than what I can remember. To add to this, we get a good mystery and courtroom drama to boot towards the middle half of the novel.

There’s nothing more alluring to people than freedom of conscience, but there’s also no greater source of suffering. – The Grand Inquisitor

Personally, one of my favorite chapters is in Book Five, The Grand Inquisitor. Another would be the telling of Zosima’s story during his younger years. The Brothers Karamazov can be a hard book to read at times because of the often long and repetitive monologues and speeches the characters make. Many times, so many words were written that basically either say nothing important or are simply there to delay the inevitable point the character is trying to make. Fortunately, keeping track of the overall story and what happens is not too difficult. It’s really only towards the 50% mark when the actual murder mystery of Fyodor springs up as well as the courtroom drama that ensues. I also thoroughly enjoyed this part of the novel.

The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lies reaches a point where he cannot recognize any truth in himself or in anyone surrounding him, and so he loses all respect for himself and for others. – Father Zosima