So I finished my first Dostoyevsky novel and it was everything I hoped and more. True, I didn’t have high expectations, but it was still a very good book. I’m debating with myself whether or not it was good enough to knock Making Sense of It All from its perch up on top of my blog as the book I most recommend of all the books I’ve read this year. On the one hand, Morris is much clearer about the thrust of his book since it is an openly philosophical work, but The Brothers Karamazov has the advantage of being an interesting story as well as dealing with interesting philosophical questions.
Dostoyevsky wrote a fascinating tale of what we would nowadays call a “highly dysfunctional family”. I think I can say, without spoiling the plot, that there is a murder involved and the reasons for the murder make for at least as interesting a tale as the quest to determine who the murderer is. Dostoyevsky is good enough not to leave his reader in the dark about the solution… or is he? Are they delusions or visions? What is the point of the inclusion of Ilusha? I liked War and Peace, but I’m not sure if I’ll ever get around to reading the whole thing again. But I know I’ll definitely read The Brothers Karamazov at least another couple times.
Neh 