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The Brothers Karamazov

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The Brothers Karamazov

By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett - translator
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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About this listen

The Brothers Karamazov is Dostoevsky's crowning life work and stands among the best novels in world literature.

The book probes the possible roles of four brothers in the unresolved murder of their father, Fyodor Karamazov. At the same time, it carefully explores the personalities and inclinations of the brothers themselves. Their psyches together represent the full spectrum of human nature, the continuum of faith and doubt.

Ultimately, this novel seeks to understand the real meaning of faith and existence and includes much beneficial philosophical and spiritual discussion that moves the reader towards faith. An incredibly enjoyable and edifying story!

Public Domain (P)2008 christianaudio.com
Classics Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literary History & Criticism Psychological Russian & Soviet Fiction Romance
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Amazing narration & brilliant story

Amazing narration by Simon Vance & brilliant story. It came alive as I listened to it.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Trial by Ordeal

Approached this with caution as my four previous experiences with Dostoevsky and his novels have been a mixed bag. 'Brothers Karamazov' loved by Freud and the Pope and favourite bedside reading for Stalin and Putin. No really!!
I can only imagine Fyodor was being chased by his bookie for gambling debts (he was paid by the word) as the reason for this massive tome.
This is a rambling long winded tale of murder, punishment and redemption with long endless tracts of religious dogma thrown in.
The story is littered with lots of pantomime characters particularly the father Karamazov and son Dimitri.
Most others are simply unpleasant self centered selfish individuals that I suspect would have benefited from a spell in the Gulag.
I know of only two people who have actually read and FINISHED this book both for academic reasons and not for pleasure.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A classic, really?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, the characters are all just so unpleasant and the story is nothing to get excited about. Half the time I found myself thinking "Who cares?" Add to that a boring delivery by the narrator means this is a book I wouldn't want to inflict on any friends.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

A damp squib. Like Dostoevsky just got fed up with writing and decided to end it there, and who can blame him?

Would you be willing to try another one of Simon Vance’s performances?

His characterizations were all the same and his delivery quite monotonous. The clearly well-to-do characters often had a north London twang to their accents, which was absolutely misplaced. So no, I would think twice before listening to another book read by Simon Vance.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

There is a Russian version and I'd be intrigued to see how they interpret the characters.

Any additional comments?

Plenty of better books out there.

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7 people found this helpful