Part 3 of TBK definitely picked up steam. Finally, something I could get into. This section begins right after the death of elder Zosima. It is a an established belief that holy men's bodies do not decompose; so when Zosima's body begins to decay, several people begin to question Zosima's holiness. Of course this gossip devastates Alyosha and leaves him feeling vulnerable about his faith. However, after a meeting with Grushenka, his faith is restored and a friendship between the two deepens. As for Dmitri and Fyodor, they are both still lusting after Grushenka. Worried that his father will wind up marrying his love, Dmitri is desperate to come up with the monies needed to run away with Grushenka. So he makes a trip to a neighboring town in order to make a business deal which falls through, leaving Dmitri to return home empty handed. As the story progresses we find Dmitri outside his father's home with a brass pestle in hand and then we find him wandering around town covered in blood and full of rubles. He spends the rubles and plans to kill himself at dawn. Of course, Dmitri finds out that Gruneshka is in love with him and just as he and she are about to be together, the police come and arrest him for the murder of his father, Fyodor. Details of the murder are revealed, Dmitri is interrogated and declarations of innocence are made. However, without solid proof and no witnesses, Dmitri is carted off to prison to await trial. And I am eager to find out what happens next. So, all I am going to write for now is that I am glad to have carried on with this book, because truthfully I was about to give up. Dostoevsky suckered me in and here I am ready for part 4. I want to finish it off this weekend so that I can mull over this book that is filled with discussions on faith and redemption; a book that focuses on the dysfunctional father/son relationships that do exist; a book that is disjointed, well written and filled with characters that do leave a lasting impression. Until the next post, Happy Reading!!!
Alright, well I'm off to continue with TBK. Next week is the last post, so I need to finish it off so that I can gather my thoughts about this great book which questions faith and redemption and the father/son relationship.
3 comments:
Yay! You came back for more. And it is a bit of a waiting game, isn't it? What will happen not only to the three brothers in their physical existences but also to the rational brother, the spiritual brother and the brother that floats somewhere in undefined territory. Everyone's posts next week should be interesting. Happy reading!
Frances, I had to come back for more. Dostoevsky got me interested again. I love the frenetic pace of this third part - it just moves instead of stalling. Loved it! And I definitely agree that next week's post will be interesting - we will have finally come to the end. Can't wait!!
I am so glad that you didn't give up, and continued on in the reading. It becomes awfully suspenseful, doesn't it? I can't wait to talk about who committed the murder, and our closing thoughts, on Thursday. (Sorry it took so long for me to leave a comment! I thought I had, when I read your post at school, and then realized the computer wouldn't let me comment because I was supposed to be...working!)
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