The Brothers Karamazov: Part 4

I'm done! TBK has been conquered! Yay!! As far as this last part is concerned - why, Dostoevsky, why? How could you build up the speed of the book with such gusto in part 3 and then let the final part just lay flat? I must say I'm disappointed. I was expecting something that would just make that final part POP, but alas, there was no POP, just a poof.  Reminds me of that Eliot poem, The Hollow Men, when he wrote,  "not with a bang, but with a whimper". That is exactly how TBK ended.

Alright, so we have Ilyusha on his deathbed (his illness has progressed), Koyla (who all the schoolboys look up to and who Ilyusha had a falling out with) and Alyosha (who meets Koyla and influences him to the point that Koyla is beginning to rethink his atheist and socialist beliefs).  From here we move on to Ivan and his descent into madness, followed by Dmitri's trial where Katerina's testimony pretty much seals his fate (she introduces a letter that was written by Dmitri and that basically says he would kill his father).  The verdict is guilty ( twenty years of hard labor in Siberia).  We end with Katerina visiting Dmitri and both of them telling each other they will promise to love each other forever.  And we have Alyosha attending Ilyusha's funeral, where he tells the schoolboys in attendance to always keep Ilyusha in their hearts and to love each other - which all the boys promise to do. "Hurrah for Karamazov" the boys chant! The end.

The end indeed. Truthfully, I could not wait to finish this book and was happy to turn the last page. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading about these maddening characters and I thought Doestoevsky's writing was definitely great, but there were just times when I felt he went on and on and on and on.  Overall, this was not one of my favorite reads and I'm not sure when I'll be reading more of his work in the future. However, I am really glad that I joined in on Bellezza's read along of this behemoth of a book, because it inspired me to pick up a book by a Russian author that I had been rather intimidated by.  Thanks, Bellezza!! And now I'm off to continue reading a frivolous book titled, The Lost Symbol.

The Brothers Karamazov: Part 3

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.

The Brothers Karamazov: Part 2

Okay, so I really enjoyed the first part of this book, but this second part was not as amusing as I had hoped it would be. Don't get me wrong, its still interesting. We have a kid who bites Alyosha and then we have Ivan declaring his personal ideologies regarding God to his brother Alyosha and then we learn about the elder Zosima and how he found his faith. All in all, some fascinating events, diatribes, etc - however, as far as trying to get through these pages, well that was a bit difficult. I found myself not as immersed in the text during this part, which made me wonder how the upcoming Part 3 would fare - hopefully better. I'm off to try and read a bit more. Fingers crossed that I get more engaged with this text, because I'm seriously considering putting it on pause.

By the by, I know that this wasn't an actual review of Part 2 and more of a whinge about reading Part 2, but I couldn't help it. However, if you want a review to find out about Part 2, then check out this site or this one.

Happy reading!!

The Brothers Karamazov: Part 1

I made a big mistake. I started to read TBK and was starting to get into it, when I decided to also begin reading The Book Thief. My mistake was not realizing that The Book Thief would steal all of my interest and attention and leave me with barely any patience to get through Part 1 of TBK. Drat! I'm tempted to just finish reading The Book Thief and put off TBK until then. However, I did read Part 1, so here goes.

The tone of the book is actually engaging - its like having a chat with a rather chatty friend (you know the type - the one who does all of the talking for you) who is filling you in on all of the gossip concerning the family down the street. And I must admit I quite liked it, which I wasn't expecting. Truth be told I was rather apprehensive about reading this text because I had heard so much about its brilliance that I was worried I wouldn't be able to get a handle on it. Well, that is most certainly not the case. I actually found myself laughing out loud a bit and enjoying the descriptions of the characters and their follies. And there are several themes already peeking out of the pages: religion (faith/doubt), family (father/son), hysteria and women, etc.. And the use of language is wonderful - the ways in which Dostoevsky provides each character with their own specific speech mannerisms which reflect their personalities so clearly is wonderful. In fact from this first part alone, I can already tell that TBK is going to be a very good read. However, I am still wondering about Liesel the book thief and will be putting TBK aside for a day or two so that I can find out what happens to the poor child. I can't believe how quickly The Book Thief drew me in - love it! Anyhow, I will post about Part 2 of TBK next Thursday.

Cheers! Happy Reading!!