Outstanding read which I enjoyed for reasons that I did not expect. The book is humorous and serious. Going into it, I knew that Dostoevsky tackled philosophical questions of faith, free will, and love, but I imagined them to be more oblique references than what I found, and was pleasantly surprised by how well they fit into the narrative – oftentimes taking center stage in chapter-long soliloquies at the behest of the characters which serve as ideological marionettes of which Dostoevsky is the master. The characters are rich enough that, even without a sufficiently strong background to completely appreciate the European/Russian political climate that underpins the plot, I was still able to appreciate the dilemmas that the characters face which persist through the centuries.

The father, Fyodor Pavlovich (curiously, if not significantly) named after the author shares many mannerisms as Trump: doubling down rather than be taken the fool, repeating himself in triplicate to state a point, and whoring about. Pattern matching his archetype thusly improved my reading experience.

The eldest son Dimitri takes after his father (I will not become my father) and the central dispute over inheritance exists between he and Fyodor.

Ivan is the reddit-core atheist middle child who serves as a steelman representative of nihilism (about which Dostoevsky and Nietzsche begin at nearly identical premises about the human condition and reason themselves to opposite conclusions. Researching more about their relationship has been incredibly fascinating: podcast).

Alyosha, the youngest son, the angelic figure who embodies super-heroic qualities of love is Ivan’s foil and the clear protagonist, named after the Dostoevsky’s son who died at the age of three. He is a saint and I learned (yes learned, dear reader) about the nature of love (agape) from him.

Father Zosima and Smerdyakov also are reflections of wisdom, in my reading, foiled about the axis of humility. The former is an elder statesman and the mentor of Alyosha, and the latter a mere lackey who uses his wisdom to stoke the ire of his, frankly retarded, masters.

Book I – A Nice Little Family: 7.75

A fascinating introduction which directly addresses the reader in a fashion similar to Mycroft in the Terra Ignota series, though less patronizingly so. I appreciate that Dostoevsky is not afraid to just break the fourth wall in order to contextualize the reader enough to pickup the story where he wants to rather than dragging us through a dense exposition encumbered by rhetorical pro forma.

Book II – An Inappropriate Gathering: 8.5/10

Banger “first” chapter in which the father disgraces Alyosha’s place of business/study be impressing the inheritance dispute between he and Dimitri upon Zosima to adjudicate. Making a mockery of the sanctity of the Eastern Orthodox monastery, and crashing out. We get a clear picture of the kind of father he is to his sons in a comedy of spite.

Book III – Sensualists: 8/10

In which we learn about Dimitri’s motivations to gain his inheritance from his father (as a prodigal son) to repay the dowery of his betrothed Katerina so that he can instead elope with Grushenka – who is the object of focus of the love triangle involving his father, further pushing them apart. We are also introduced to my guy Smerdyakov the shrewd, and bear witness to the kindred whimsy of Alyosha who aims to help his wretched eldest brother despite his previously (and presently) twisted motives.

Book IV – Lacerations/Strains: 8/10

A side quest chapter involving Alyosha and a schoolboy who assaults him with rocks. Saintly Alyosha tracks the boy down, not to rebuke him but to help the child who is clearly being bullied. He finds that the boy is bullied and thus lashing out as a direct result of Dimitri having beaten his father. The children at school mock him for this, and the father respects his compassionate hot-tempered boy for his willingness to step up to bat to defend his father’s name and also exact revenge on any Karamazov he sees (hence biting Alyosha’s finger). Alyosha impresses upon the man his dearest condolences and promises that Mitya will apologize to him. The father is the image of pride, graciously accepting Alyosha’s mediation and reparations only to backpedal having realized that in doing so he has bared his soul to transparently for a man, and rebukes Alyosha’s generosity. A great set piece on what it means to be a man, a Russian man, and a forgiving man.

Book V – Pro and Contra: 9/10

Simultaneously hilarious, incredibly philosophical, dense, and infamous. Ivan’s description of his own poem (which we don’t get, just his description thereof lol) of a Spanish inquisitor inquesting upon Jesus for inflicting mankind with free will and refusing the devil’s temptations in the desert all of which would’ve made it infinitely easier for mankind to be saved, thus asserting that the only rational outcome of the course of events proffered by Christianity to be nihilism. This is a powerhouse of a soliloquy from Ivan, and an insightful rebuttal by Alyosha, ending with Alyosha kissing Ivan on the lips, as did Jesus to Ivan’s Grand Inquisitor in his own poem, as did Judas to Jesus, to which Ivan overtly remarks “but I am not judas and you are not jesus” (todo)

Book VI – The Russian Monk: 9/10

The account of Cosima’s life in which he learns/comprehends the idea that every man is responsible for every man.

This seems is a stark contrast to e.g. Quintin Compson’s nihilistic and consumptive drunken screed:

“and he every man is the arbiter of his own virtues but let no man prescribe for another mans wellbeing and i temporary and he was the saddest word of all there is nothing else in the world of all there is nothing else in the world its not despair its not even time.”

Book VII – Alyosha: 7/10

Alyosha laments the death of his mentor. He is grief stricken by the stench of his decaying corpse (which, at the time, they/he believed would be incorruptible for his blessed demeanor). In his weakness, he is taken advantage of by Rakitin who coordinates a meeting with Grushenka's who’s whorish nature is put on display as she tries to seduce yet a third Karamazov. Alyosha, though, is too pure and in fact shines a light on her soul and she is redeemed by Alyosha’s own inspiration from the devotion she claims to have for his brother. Weird chapter.

Book VIII – Mitya: 7.75

Lot’s of action and questions. Mite’s chapter motivates the remainder of the book. Scrabbling in a debauched state to find the money to payoff Katerina so that he can elope with Grushenka, he goes on a series of wild goose chases which ultimately leads to him returning to his fathers house, paranoid that Grushenka has already sneaky linked with him, with a murder weapon in hand. We fast forward through the details which are disputed for the remainder of the book, with Gregori the house keep bludgeoned by Dimitri. He attempts to tend to Gregori, distraught with grief, then flees the scene of his crime.

He awakens in a stupor, learns of Grushenka’s whereabouts and immediately launches a campaign to woo her with his spending in the nearby town he finds her in. Dimi

Book IX – The Preliminary Investigation: 9/10

The benchmark against which I measure most dramatic dialogs is the trial scene from “A Storm of Swords,” in which Tyrion proclaims “I did not kill Joffrey, but I wish that I had.” This is a 10/10 scene from start to finish, filled with climactic tension, prose, pathos, and wit. I now recognize that scene to be a direct homage to this chapter which, though slightly less-densely packed with climactic tension, is still the climax of the novel and executed exquisitely. Additionally, as I was reading the preceding chapters, I was making direct comparisons between those dialogs and the aforementioned trial scene. This book is but a sequence of explosive diatribes from compelling characters, begging questions not of mythological significance as in Martin’s novels, but rather questions about the soul.

Book X – Boys: 7.75/10

A continuation of the sidequest introduced in book IV, wherein Dostoevsky mocks western enlightenment (or rather, the Russian proponents of the time) by projecting their views through the mouth of an arrogant boy (Kolya) who is like the ponytail nerd from Good Will Hunting who just parrots shit he’s read (or claims to have heard of, but not actually read or comprehended, let alone synthesized himself). Alyosha beats him down with the humble and understanding wisdom we’ve come to appreciate from him.

Alongside their dialectics runs an additional arc concerned with the health of the hot-tempered son (Ilyusha) of the captain from Book 4. Kolya is reconciled with Ilyusha over one of the latter boy’s acts of rebellious independence whereby he acted out of malice simply to estrange himself from his peers by feeding a dog a piece of bread with a needle in it to kill him slowly. Apparently this is a trick he picked up from Smerdyakov (hateful little bastard imp). Nevertheless, the efforts to comfort Ilyusha are misplaced and self-aggrandizing as he spends all the weeks that Ilyusha lies ill training the dog that was believed to have been killed by Ilyusha so as to surprise Ilyusha with him. Too little too late, and missing the point of Ilyusha’s suffering entirely, showing how unwise Kolya really is, and giving Alyosha a reason to piously admonish him and feel remorse on behalf of the whole rest of the cast of this book.

Book XI – Brother Ivan Fyodorovich: 8.25/10

Again we see parallels to Quintin Compson – Ivan descends into madness and is tormented by an unnamed “visitor” who seems to be some sort of apparition that Alyosha knows about despite Ivan’s secrecy regarding the source of his delusions causing him sickness. He meets with Smerdyakov multiple times, eventually getting him to confess that he was the murderer, but was acting under Ivan’s orders, or even perhaps his implicit wishes – brought about by Ivan’s nihilistic guidance. Smerdyakov hangs himself the day before Mite’s trial leaving Mitya boned and Ivan seeming even more the madman for trying to pin his fathers murder on the simpleton. Alyosha does something along the lines of an exorcism on Ivan – it’s badass good vs. evil shit.

Book XII – A Judicial Error: 9/10

Perhaps the longest book in the novel – we get an account of the Mite’s trial, which has become infamous throughout all of Russia. As the chapter proceeds we begin to see that all of Russia is being indicted with Mitya as a figurehead. Interestingly enough, the prosecution invokes Christiania/traditional values in the closing argument, whereas Mite’s lawyer is the beacon of rational thought. Mitya loses, which probably has more to do with Dostoevsky’s views than the objective right or wrong of the case. This chapter is the trial scene, with soliloquies so moving that it brings the crowd to tears. Shades of the Trial of Yinz Lubjana where judge poop says “overruled, that was badass” lol.

Epilogue: 7/10

Loose ends are tidied, Dimitri’s love triangle is messy as ever. Alyosha cosigns the plan to bust Mitya out of jail on strictly the most conscientious grounds that no guards will be punished for his escape. He then attends Ilyusha’s funeral, attended by twelve boys. He’s charges with with The Great Commission to love each other in the wake of the death of their new found and too-soon departed friend Ilyusha whom they used to bully even! Christ like imagery abounds, and the Karamazov name echos into the closing pages with a much brighter connotation than in the opening ones.

related