The Brothers Karamazov II

More about the book

What is this last and renowned novel by Dostoevsky? It is a criminal, socio-philosophical, religious-mystical, familial, polemical, accusatory work, or something akin to a church treatise? Debates continue over these attributes, and all can be answered affirmatively. However, it is more accurate to say that it encompasses all of these elements and, moreover, that it is a terrible, cruel, and even horrifying book, whose issues and questions, particularly at the time of its creation, shook life and have continued to resonate in modern literature. It presents a complete world of Russian types, a broad depiction of Russian life, a novel of human fate, Russia, and humanity, as well as the entirety of Dostoevsky's thought and quest, his conflict with philosophical materialism and socialism, and the measure of his own doubts, protests against the injustice and cruelty of the world, and its divine and human order. The plot is evidently a reflection of Dostoevsky's tormenting thoughts, passionate feelings, and harsh doubts, advancing with unrelenting tension and drama, full of twists; the characters of the Karamazov brothers and their father will forever remain etched in the reader's memory.