the brothers karamzov...life-changing (for me)!

I feel like this novel has changed my life, but I also feel like I may be being over-sensitive/over-emotional in my reaction to it.

So much about the novel affected me very deeply, on a human level in particular the subplots of the captain and his son, and on a philosophical level too.

The combination of reading it and at the same time in my life watching the Seventh Seal have got me contemplating life and God objectively, but what the brothers K and the character Alyosha instilled in me was a very deep love for humanity and awareness of others' suffering.

Do you think Dostoevsky intended the novel to have that effect? Have others reacted in a similarly strong way? I cant work out if its part of the genius of the novel as written, or if it is more my own experience an the point in my life when I read it that it touched me so profoundly?

I have not myself read the Brothers Karamazov, but some very intelligent people have said to me that they regard it as the greatest book ever written.

Your reaction to it sounds like the kind of reaction great literature often instills. A writer as profound, as attuned to the ins and the outs and the subtleties of the complex human social and psychological drama as was that wise sensitive Russian, is going to plumb to the depths of you, summon to the fore many thoughts and feelings that had perhaps long lain hidden and still in the dark of your subconscious. Like a sun a great book enlightens and in some instances blinds.

Way to go. That's like my ultimate "someday I will read" book. I've read the rest of his novels but I feel like I haven't really read Dostoevsky because the Brother's Karamazov lies ever on my shelf untouched.

It is an absolutely brilliant book. It didn't have as much of a life-changing impact on me, but I can certainly see where you are coming from.

It's actually on my summer of "books I read way back when and really should re-read because I will better appreciate them now than I did then" list, or the BIRWBWARSRBIWBATNTIDT list for short :)

just finished Brothers K for the second time. a quandry as to how to evaulate. D obviously writes brilliantly with great intellect to which I generally react favorably likely for reason i have so little myself. a very deep understanding of human nature and condition though the expression of it compared to some others more puzzled me than left any lasting impressions.

I have trouble giving the book a lot of value for a number of reasons. the first is that D's thought process essentially confuses me. since one of the themes of the novel is the existence of God, which confused D, am unsure this great effort did much in the way of unraveling.

Moreover, unless u r interested in that Q--and since I've long ago decided that Q for myself--despite very good writing that imo falls a little short of Joyce's work in Ulysses--Joyse's sermon as compared to The Grand Inquisitor and Father Zosima--there was for me a ho hum reaction to a lot of this. Possibly our 21st century thought processes aided by deeper understanding of science gives the religious arguments in B.K. a feeling of juvenile soul searching. I'm rereading Grand Inquisitor and Father Zosima sections now to see if I disagree with my own conclusions. On reevaluation simply find the take of various biblical texts as tedious although there's some memorable stuff there in the Zosima section.

The problem I had with the other thematics in the novel is similar argument in that D just seems all over the place with his complex brilliantly and artistically stated thought processes whereas in my last prior read which was Middlemarch, also a reread, there's more an understandable and firmer point of view even when one disagrees. Interestingly the commentary in the Norton Edition is almost as confusing as the novel itself in contrast to e.g. the brilliant Norton commentaries in the Norton edition of Goethe's Faust.

Having reread B.K. it does seem the book that if someone were to spend an extraordinary amount of time with it that it has a certain uplifting quality. I'm glad to have read, and yet unsure it's worth further effort considering alternatives.

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Originally Posted by kaaatie

So much about the novel affected me very deeply, on a human level in particular the subplots of the captain and his son, and on a philosophical level too.

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I read the novel long ago but still remember the feeling of unprecedented empathy I felt for the characters, and particularly for Alyosha and the less than pleasant Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov. Dostoevsky seemed to understand and explain my world and its people far better than I could. I think the novel made me more accepting of others.

Recently I read The Idiot and loved it as much.

for me, it came as more of a surprise that someone had, so effectively and so long ago, already written about these ideas I hold dear, and that these ideas have yet to catch on and retain nearly all of their relevance in our society today.

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Originally Posted by fb0252

just finished Brothers K for the second time. a quandry as to how to evaulate. D obviously writes brilliantly with great intellect to which I generally react favorably likely for reason i have so little myself. a very deep understanding of human nature and condition though the expression of it compared to some others more puzzled me than left any lasting impressions.

I have trouble giving the book a lot of value for a number of reasons. the first is that D's thought process essentially confuses me. since one of the themes of the novel is the existence of God, which confused D, am unsure this great effort did much in the way of unraveling.

Moreover, unless u r interested in that Q--and since I've long ago decided that Q for myself--despite very good writing that imo falls a little short of Joyce's work in Ulysses--Joyse's sermon as compared to The Grand Inquisitor and Father Zosima--there was for me a ho hum reaction to a lot of this. Possibly our 21st century thought processes aided by deeper understanding of science gives the religious arguments in B.K. a feeling of juvenile soul searching. I'm rereading Grand Inquisitor and Father Zosima sections now to see if I disagree with my own conclusions. On reevaluation simply find the take of various biblical texts as tedious although there's some memorable stuff there in the Zosima section.

The problem I had with the other thematics in the novel is similar argument in that D just seems all over the place with his complex brilliantly and artistically stated thought processes whereas in my last prior read which was Middlemarch, also a reread, there's more an understandable and firmer point of view even when one disagrees. Interestingly the commentary in the Norton Edition is almost as confusing as the novel itself in contrast to e.g. the brilliant Norton commentaries in the Norton edition of Goethe's Faust.

Having reread B.K. it does seem the book that if someone were to spend an extraordinary amount of time with it that it has a certain uplifting quality. I'm glad to have read, and yet unsure it's worth further effort considering alternatives.

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in my opinion, the Brothers Karamazov should have provoked you to contemplate the significance of "that Q", and whether you are placing too much emphasis upon it.

one of the criticisms Dostoevsky seems to have on European and young Russian thought during that time (and of course it's still going strong) is this preoccupation with that Q. I believe Alyosha's second to last line of the book, in the epilogue, emphasizes this point.

Well, I'm probably going to read it. Both "Crime and Punishment" and "The Idiot" are some of the best books I've ever read, especially the first one - I'm not being objective here, as I'm putting it forward because of the themes I prefer -, and there are many people claiming Karamazov to be not only the best book by Dostoevskij, but even the greatest literary work.
Any advice about how to approach this reading?

The father and the sons make for a compelling read in part due to the fact that each chooses their own way of living life. Fyodor and Ivan are the "sensualists" and live up the present life to the hilt. The limitations of their lives is readily apparent and Fyodor's narcissism and repugnant relativism is quite striking. Alexey chooses a radically different path, though he is tempted to pursue other avenues through his experiences. Father Zossima's desire to send him out into the world reminds me of the old Christian admonition of "being in the world, not of it" and living life among the unbelievers, as opposed to the cloistered. The passions over a woman, despair over boy who died, not to mention the crushing povery of the "wisp o' tow" captain, all point to problems that we all face in life that are quite common. In the end, we talk one another's hand and bravely step forward remembering those who came before and braving the future.

This book resonated with me on several levels: from the opening scenes where the brothers rendezvous with Father Zossima, to the clashing of theist and atheist ideologues in "The Grand Inquisitor", to Dmitri's court scene, to the agony of Ivan, to the very last description/monologue/discourse of Alyosha. A true masterpiece and easily my favorite Dostoevsky novel, though many would differ with my opinion.

It seems to me that Father Z is very overdone, even boring. It also seems to me that Aloysha is too good to be true. However perhaps one of you can correct me.

I read this novel at the age of 13 and it changed my life profoundly. I spent the next two years in a mental hospital after I decided to pretend to "be" Smerdyakov. As the new thread I just wrote indicates, there is much I didn't "get" about that character but that didn't phase me. I tried to kill myself as S did in the book. This has remained one of my favorite novels although I'm not in the same place as I was at 13. Of course, one should never stay in the same place with a book if it's a great one, as this obviously is. One grows with it.

Welcome to the site, Franowve. It is interesting that your response to the story was so similar to Ivan's. Yes, it can be a life-changing book, but I am glad for your sake that you decided to move on. Have you read more Dostoyevsky?