A 12 Year Old's Take

Hello,<br> Yes, there are probably things you missed because of your age, but you have a lot to look foreward to: this is a novel you can read again every two years or so and find something new each time, it is so richly layered and complexly narrated that as your life experience grows, so will your understanding of the book. The first time I read it I fell in love with Ivan, I was so upset by the way the ending left me hanging! I don't know which translation you read, but it is widely agreed that the Constance Garnett is the least thorough- make sure you check out the David MacDuff and the Ignat Avsey translations (the latter translates the title as "The Karamazov Brothers"). MacDuff is my favorite.<br> And keep reading! My father forced me to read Hamlet with him over one summer when I was nine or ten. Since then some of the best experiences of my life have been encounters with great literature.<br>-Nita

dude, have you ever asked yourself "why do I know what the 4 humors of the renaissance era are? Is it so i can impress some dudes on the internet with my knowlege?" I noticed from your email address that you live in manhattan which i think is likely a horrible horrible thing. I was gonna tell you to go play in some grass or something but maybe take a train to a beach somewhere and chill. You gotta commune with nature and your fellow man dawg. Thats what I say. <br> Ooh about the book. There are way more important things the brothers represent than what you have listed and i dont even really consider Smerdyakov a whole character. The school i go to's motto is "mind. body, and spirit" and the brothers all kinda posess one but not the other two. I think ivan and dmitry would have been well served to have some spirit especially while alyosha could have prevented something maybe if he can frickin ever done somethin you know?<br>i hope you get a chance to read this<br>peace,<br>ethan

hi! you have a wonderful grasp of literature for someone so young but id hate to think that you are satisfied with what you have learnt through this book. you are correct in thinking you cannot understand everything on offer here due to your age, and with age and time you will learn to appreciate this book as much as i have. and can i be so bold to recommend to you other russian novels-especially war and peace and Anna Karenina (both by leo tolstoy). another brilliant book is Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. i think that you will enjoy these books as much as you evidently have enjoyed the Brothers Kamarazov. and one other thing-keep on reading because its always good to know that there is a new generation out there who enjoys great literature.<br>sorry if this comment is too long and i hope you read it<br>ayshah

Hi!<br><br>You are young and I am old, yet we think the same of Brothers K. I read it once before when I was 14 and I loved it much and undertood it but a little.<br>Dan

I'm sorry, first, if this "comment" is to be a long one, but I simply have no where to vent my feelings of love, of admiration, of inspiration and of wonderment at this work, I cannot put my feelings into words. <br> The plot of this work, amazing, amazing! Each character, why there is such depth! I doubt that there are such people in the world, people that delve so deeply into their own thoughts and the thoughts of others, that are so multi-faceted and incomprehensible. It is as if Dostoevsky were writing of a different race, as if he added a 4th dimension to the human mind and heart.<br> There is so much symbolism, so much subtlety, so many references to Dostoevsky's own life! The re-working of chapters for different characters, the suggestion of opposite and unrelated events likening to eachother in ways the average human mind would not perceive. I believe the complete ingenuity of this work can never be fully recognised, not even by Dostoevsky himself, for so much has gone into this unconsciously, it must be, for no mind could possible create such a novel. As if it were a mere novel! <br> I know, I know that by reading this at such a young age I could not possibly see all there is here, but I also feel so much a better person for it, in my words, my works and my consideration for the human race. <br> It shall never cease to amaze me, this cliche has never been better used! The way each of the four sons, and the father, too, represents a part of Doestoevsky. Dmitri - the creative artist. Ivan - the neurotic. Alexey - the moralist and Smerdyakov - the sinner. These four facets could just as easily be attributed to the entirety of the human race, could they not? Much like the four humors of the Renaissance era, no?<br> Oh, so much more, so much more to say! Alas, it is impossible! Impossible to completely express myself-it cannot be done! My own mind does not know what to think, I am terribly overwhelmed. This man, a mere man, a mortal... Beautiful.

Hey even if you missed something the first time (and you did. I did, do, and will :) ) the fact that you're twelve and reading Dostoevsky is to be admired. I read Anna Karenina at 11 or 12 and haven't yet been back to it, but I've changed so much that my outlook is completely different. I should actually go ahead and do that. Anyway, keep reading--it's the way to truly educate yourself.

Sophia

I am amazed of this young persons' critique of the The Brothers Karamozov. Some people go without reading a single novel in their life. This person has managed to comprehend and intelligently comment on what I believe one of the greatest novels of our time. Well done.

I could not imagine reading Dostoevsky at 12 years old. You should be very proud.