The Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov is a classic for a reason - it is beautifully written, insightful, and grapples with big themes like life, death, faith, doubt, and humanity. The characters are intriguing, and the story very engaging. \\r\\n\\r\\nIt is a difficult read - at times the narrative moves slowly, and some may struggle with references to philosophical or religious ideas they may be unfamiliar with. Also, the Russian character names can be a bit hard to follow at times, especially as each character might go by up to 3 different names!\\r\\n\\r\\nDespite the difficulties, this book is well worth the effort. Highly recommended.

This book is many things, it is a drama involving multiple love triangles and a family feud, it is a murder mystery, and it is a court room thriller, and ultimately it is a classic for all these reasons and more. The story follows the members of the Karamazov family: the neglectful father Fyodor, a miserly lech who has largely been absent from the lives of his sons; the eldest Dmitri (Mitya) who is a passionate sensualist; the middle child Ivan who is somewhat of a tortured intellectual atheist, and the youngest and in some ways the main character of the story Alexei (Alyosha), the young naive faithful Christian. As we travel through the book the characters and world of 19th century Russia are wonderfully brought to life. I don't read many classics, but I found this book to always be interesting, and from the second half I found myself much more drawn in. If possible I'd recommend getting the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.