Vit’s review of The Brothers Karamazov > Likes and Comments
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Great review Vit!
Great review, Vit! A book to consider for sure.
I noticed you chose the P&V translation, was it better?
"By living one unavoidably destroys oneself and others."
A very strong statement. Is this your voice or the author's?
- )
Margitte wrote: "Great review, Vit! A book to consider for sure."
Reading The Brothers Karamazov is like climbing down into a bear-pit with a mean and hungry beast. The potential reader is at great risk: for Dostoyevsky plays all-in: forcefully challenging, threatening everything we hold dear. - )
I’ve read the novel in Russian, of course, but when I was looking for quotes in English I compared two translations and I liked this one more…
“By living one unavoidably destroys oneself and others.” – This is my conclusion induced by the novel. Reading the The Brothers Karamazov is similar to a slow descent into hell…
Wow! Again, unavoidable destruction is a very strong statement.
My own description, metaphor, reading response, is something like: the author grabs you by the gonads, and drags you out to the edge, and then dangles you over the abyss, scaring the hell out of you.
I still remember reading the chapter: Rebellion . It has to be at least 20 years ago. I never got over it. I hated the author for putting it in the book. It's so monstrous. Then one day, years later, I went back and read the chapter again. It was again, horrible! It made me so sad. Why did I read it a second time? The power of Art: to affect us.
I remember when the "new" P&V translations came out. The publisher claim that P&V had returned all the "humor" in Dostoyevsky that others had left out. I never understood the notion of humor in D!
It's rather a dark sarcasm than just humour. And some passages are wickedly satirical.
It's been over 2 years since I read this - I think it's time for a reread.
I think you’ll find there many new nuances now.
I like the contrariness of your interpretation. Didn't much like Chapayev and Void, but like his criticism of Russia's obsession with Dostoevsky, though I'm not free of that criticism, my coming to the conclusion that transcendentalist notions are never free of containing potentially pernicious social elements.
Thank you, Sofia! Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a very contrary man.
One of the greatest books ever written. Happy you enjoyed the book.
Such a classic. This was my favorite book for a long time.
Mr. Windup Bird wrote: "Such a classic. This was my favorite book for a long time."
Always has been one of my favorites.
Great review. Time for me to re-read.
Have yet to read the entire book, but have read 'The Grand Inquisitor' several times.
Thank you, my friends. I believe The Brothers Karamazov influenced literary taste of many readers.
Terrific review of a book I read also, thank you.
Yes, what's left to say? True, a stupendous novel, one of the greatest. It did leave me craving a good soap opera pot-boiler with syfy elements set in a dystopian future with kinky relationships, so I'm re-reading "Atlas Shrugged".
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Fred
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Sep 10, 2017 11:56AM
Great review Vit!
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Great review, Vit! A book to consider for sure.
I noticed you chose the P&V translation, was it better?"By living one unavoidably destroys oneself and others."
A very strong statement. Is this your voice or the author's?
- )
Margitte wrote: "Great review, Vit! A book to consider for sure."Reading The Brothers Karamazov is like climbing down into a bear-pit with a mean and hungry beast. The potential reader is at great risk: for Dostoyevsky plays all-in: forcefully challenging, threatening everything we hold dear. - )
I’ve read the novel in Russian, of course, but when I was looking for quotes in English I compared two translations and I liked this one more…“By living one unavoidably destroys oneself and others.” – This is my conclusion induced by the novel. Reading the The Brothers Karamazov is similar to a slow descent into hell…
Wow! Again, unavoidable destruction is a very strong statement.My own description, metaphor, reading response, is something like: the author grabs you by the gonads, and drags you out to the edge, and then dangles you over the abyss, scaring the hell out of you.
I still remember reading the chapter: Rebellion . It has to be at least 20 years ago. I never got over it. I hated the author for putting it in the book. It's so monstrous. Then one day, years later, I went back and read the chapter again. It was again, horrible! It made me so sad. Why did I read it a second time? The power of Art: to affect us.
I remember when the "new" P&V translations came out. The publisher claim that P&V had returned all the "humor" in Dostoyevsky that others had left out. I never understood the notion of humor in D!
It's rather a dark sarcasm than just humour. And some passages are wickedly satirical.
It's been over 2 years since I read this - I think it's time for a reread.
I think you’ll find there many new nuances now.
Vit wrote; "And I’m afraid my interpretations of it will hardly be popular."
Popular with me and you, at least. Beyond that, it is a prescription for anxiety to care.
Popular with me and you, at least. Beyond that, it is a prescription for anxiety to care.
I like the contrariness of your interpretation. Didn't much like Chapayev and Void, but like his criticism of Russia's obsession with Dostoevsky, though I'm not free of that criticism, my coming to the conclusion that transcendentalist notions are never free of containing potentially pernicious social elements.
Thank you, Sofia! Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a very contrary man.
One of the greatest books ever written. Happy you enjoyed the book.
Such a classic. This was my favorite book for a long time.
Mr. Windup Bird wrote: "Such a classic. This was my favorite book for a long time."Always has been one of my favorites.
Great review. Time for me to re-read.
Have yet to read the entire book, but have read 'The Grand Inquisitor' several times.
Thank you, my friends. I believe The Brothers Karamazov influenced literary taste of many readers.
Terrific review of a book I read also, thank you.
Yes, what's left to say? True, a stupendous novel, one of the greatest. It did leave me craving a good soap opera pot-boiler with syfy elements set in a dystopian future with kinky relationships, so I'm re-reading "Atlas Shrugged".
