The Brothers Karamazov
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which of these books should i read after this masterpiece?
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Karenina wasn't bad but the longer it went on the less i cared.Jest I am yet to have a crack at, Solitude i failed at
Don Quioxtie is the one i'd recommend, tonally very different to Karamazov which may be a relief.
Remember Karamazov was meant to be part one of three
Sandyboy wrote: "Karenina wasn't bad but the longer it went on the less i cared.Jest I am yet to have a crack at, Solitude i failed at
Don Quioxtie is the one i'd recommend, tonally very different to Karamazov w..."
Yes I have recently read that it was an unfinished work(of art). Quioxtie is definitely a book I want to read and it is pretty intimidating as well. It is quoted and or mentioned everywhere.
I have yet to purchase that one yet, though I will.
Thanks for the recommendation
Hi,Nothing you will read will ever come close to Brothers Karamazove. It is my all time favorite. but I think there are many masterpieces such as the following:
War and Peace
Crime and Punishment
The Red and The Black
Germinal
The Name of The Rose
I would vote for Anna Karenina. Although long the story is easy to follow. I enjoyed Tolstoy's little side stories on hunting, mushroom gathering, haying, and beekeeping almost as much as the main story. I am reading One Hundred Years of Solitude now and I am finding it somewhat hard to follow and uninteresting. The recommendations of Don Quixote, Crime and Punishment, and The Name of the Rose are all excellent. Dead Souls and The Master and Margarita are also good if you want to stick to Russian literature.
Crime and Punishment (Dostoyevsky)Demons (Dostoyevsky)
Middlemarch (Eliot)
Portrait of a Lady (James)
Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
Far from the Madding Crowd (Hardy)
Mohammed wrote: "Hi,Nothing you will read will ever come close to Brothers Karamazove. It is my all time favorite. but I think there are many masterpieces such as the following:
War and Peace
Crime and Punishmen..."
I thought the same thing when I finished East Of Eden which I see you are reading now. I do think Brothers Karamazov is the best as well, but I hope you enjoy East of Eden as much as I did. It is Steinbeck's magnum opus. And thank you for the suggestions as I had never heard of the last three and yet, they interest me.
Other great novels by Dostoevsky include: The Idiot, Crime and Punishment, The Demons, and Notes From the Underground.Other masterpieces of world literature I would recommend: Don Quixote, Goethe's Faust, Tin Drum, Midnight's Children, Things Fall Apart, Les Misrables, Great Expectations, etc.
Other great Russian novels: Master and Margarita, Dead Souls, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Dr. Zhivago, Fathers and Sons, Life and Fate.
Ed wrote: "I would vote for Anna Karenina. Although long the story is easy to follow. I enjoyed Tolstoy's little side stories on hunting, mushroom gathering, haying, and beekeeping almost as much as the main ..."Thanks for the recommendations Ed and please let me know if in the end you thought One Hundred Years of Solitude turned out worth it.
Richard wrote: "Crime and Punishment (Dostoyevsky)Demons (Dostoyevsky)
Middlemarch (Eliot)
Portrait of a Lady (James)
Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
Far from the Madding Crowd (Hardy)"
Thanks I have tried A Tale of Two Cities and just couldn't bring myself to continue, but the others are great suggestions.
Brothers Karamazov is my all time favorite though. I have yet to find another novel that matches it in psychological depth, emotion, philosophy, and overall beauty. It is certainly my vote for greatest novel of all time. The novels that usually challenge Brother's K for that title are War and Peace and Don Quixote.
Ian wrote: "Brothers Karamazov is my all time favorite though. I have yet to find another novel that matches it in psychological depth, emotion, philosophy, and overall beauty. It is certainly my vote for grea..."I also absolutely love the psychological aspect of the book. It is one of those books everyone says, "No I haven't read it yet, I don't scared I won't like it and it is so long." Well for now on my advice will always be, "Pick up the damn book, instantly."
All the rest of Dostoevsky, if you haven't gotten to it yet.
yes, all will pale in comparison. i read the brothers karamazov some 8 or 9 years ago and yet still it lives in my memory as the best novel of all time. (in fact, i'm planning to re-read it soon). i concur that crime and punishment is excellent, too--i would throw in a suggestion to read another book, a fine balance by rohinton minstry just to mix things up a bit.ps- ive attempted anna karenina twice now and didnt make it! new year's resolution, third time's the charm :/?
Anjanette wrote: "yes, all will pale in comparison. i read the brothers karamazov some 8 or 9 years ago and yet still it lives in my memory as the best novel of all time. (in fact, i'm planning to re-read it soon). ..."I am reading One Hundred Years of Solitude and loving it! I can see where people could complain about all the similar names and lose interest, but it all comes together.
Your suggestion of A Fine Balance sounds great. I read the synopsis and will definitely pick it up to read.
i enjoyed one hundred years of solitude, too. i'll never forget that i read it over a week period when my region was getting an inordinate amount of rain. it was downright palpable.
I am really enjoying it. I should be done by tonight. Then on to another recommendation from this thread.
if you decide on tackling anna karenina in the next couple of months let me know--need a book club, book buddy, bribes, something! ;)
HAHA well, being as I have already picked it up I believe I probably will. Long books are way better with someone to discuss them with.
The Idiot. Hands down.
But of course! Remembrance of Things Past, beginning with Swann's Way by Marcel Proust. No one else can take you there the way he can. Whether you want to go there or not is another question. Or everything else by Dostoyevsky. If you can find them, he wrote some short stories early in his career before he was arrested and sentenced to death. Clearly, the experience had a profound influence on him.
Anna Karenina, War & Peace, Crime &punishment,,,
Of your three choices I'd go AK next. But IJ is worth reading. These are two in my top 10. 100 yrs is on my to do list.
Again thanks for all the great recommendations. I just finished One Hundred Years of Solitude and I really enjoyed it. It did taper off towards the end for me though. Now I am going to read Crime and Punishment, because it came in the mail today I simply can't wait.Then I may move to Anna.
Tracy wrote: "The Idiot. Hands down."The Idiot looks so go that I am saving it for my last of Dostoyevsky. Crime and Punishment then Notes from the Underground and then finally The Idiot. Reason being by the synopsis I feel that I will probably enjoy it the most.
Sam wrote: "Again thanks for all the great recommendations. I just finished One Hundred Years of Solitude and I really enjoyed it. It did taper off towards the end for me though. Now I am going to read Crime a..."Excellent choice. Enjoy....
I love 100 Years, too. That, Idiot, Faulkner, and Ulysses are on top of my reading lists.
Sam wrote: "I am half way through this book and I have to say ,WOW, I love it. The length initially terrified me, but I have breezed through it because of how much I love it. So I want to take up another daunt..."yes you are totally right.this book is a great WOW for ever.:)
So many choices... Beside the russians, Why not James'The other turn of the screw?
And, Ulysses, the best
Try Dostoevsky's The Possessed (also called "The Devils")or his "Notes from Underground." Also check out some Niikolai Gogol, his novel "Dead Souls" or any collection of his stories that includes "The Nose" or "The Overcoat." Strange, before-its-time stuff. And also very funny in a black comic, surreal way.
Solitude. Just do it, Fantasy Realism was forged forever in this masterpiece. There isn't another book like it. My absolute favourite.
I haven't read Infinite Jest, but can give a huge thumbs up for 100 Years of Solitude and Anna Karenina. Though, I would recommend War & Peace over AK. If you haven't read W&P yet, don't let the length deter you, especially if you loved Brothers Karamazov. If I were to suggest one of your three to follow BK, it would be 100 Years. It's brilliant, enjoyable and a great contrast to Dostoevsky.
The obscene bird of the night by José Donoso -chilean- one of the best latinamerican novels.The vortex by José Eustasio Rivera -colombian- one of the latinamerican must readings.
Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian -chinese novel price- great novel.
Chronicle of a blood merchant by Yu Hua -chinese- his short stories in "The past and the punishments" are marvelous and spooky.
Sam wrote: "Solitude. Just do it, Fantasy Realism was forged forever in this masterpiece. There isn't another book like it. My absolute favourite."The origins of Fantasy Realism are said to be in Macunaima a novel of Mario de Andrade from Brazil, maybe you are interested. It is considered one of the most important books in brazilian literature.
Jorge Luis Borges "A Personal Anthology"
Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Sandra wrote: "Sam wrote: "Solitude. Just do it, Fantasy Realism was forged forever in this masterpiece. There isn't another book like it. My absolute favourite."The origins of Fantasy Realism are said to be in..."
on it, thanks! =)
I've read all of those on your initial choice list. The only thing that puts Jest in that category is it's length; it's a truly terrible book. Anna Karenina is a far better novel than War & Peace, in my opinion, but if you liked Karamazov you might enjoy W&P. It's just really really shaggy with lots of stuff that could have been cut / condensed. Anna K is more direct (despite its length). One Hundred Years of Solitude is certainly in that category of all time great books. Amazing.
One hundred years is fantastic, a very common genre in the 60s & 70s. Agree that W&P could be condensed. But u could try to read Tolstoi's The death of Ivan Ilitch, a short master piece.
if you want to stay on the Golden Age of Russian literature, Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol ia a must.
In regards to Christian's comments about W&P. I agree, AK is a better, more polished novel than W&P, and Tolstoy could have edited a couple hundred of the last 400 pages out. That said, it is truly an epic and deeply rewarding read, and overall, it had a stronger impact on me than AK. You should read both.
Although 100 Hundred Years of Solitude was great. I can't say it really deserves to be considered the "founder" of fantasy realism or even the book that restored the movement. For example, The Tin Drum used magical realism and allegory with a character representing his country's people a full decade before Solitude. I would also recommend Midnight's Children if you are interested in the magical realism genre.@ Francisco, I very much agree about Ivan Ilyich. If you don't have the time to put into Anna K or W&P, it is a good, short substitute.
AK is great, but W&P is in another league. Yes, it is shaggy and ranging and if you wanted to lop out a couple hundred pages you could--and it would still be as good as AK. But, like Moby Dick, its wanderings are part of its soul. It would be like reading the lobotomized version of Les Miserables that leaves out the first quarter of the book. Tolstoy's Ivan Ilych and Kreutzer Sonata are short, tight masterpieces that prove Tolstoy was capable of concision when it served his purpose.Solitude is beautiful. It took a few tries before I got into the book far enough to get some traction, but glad I did.
Jest I have set aside. I just finished Gravity's Rainbow and my cranium hurts. I need to recover before tackling another brain bender.
I can also recommend Don Quixote and Germinal (and Moby Dick). Not a long work but one that is a good follow up to Bros K is Lolita.
If you want to stay 19th century: Bleak House (one of Dicken's less chirpy novels), Jude the Obscure (by far Hardy's grimmest), or History of Henry Esmond (Thackaray; pretty provocative for a Victorian novel). One more: The Way of All Flesh (Butler)--fantastic!
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Anna Karenina- Leo Tolstoy
Infinite Jest- David Foster Wallace
One Hundred Years Of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
(not quite as long)
Anyone enjoy any of these? Thanks