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The Brothers Karamazov [Naxos AudioBooks Edition]

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The Brothers Karamazov [Naxos AudioBooks Edition]

By: Constance Garnett - translator, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Narrated by: Constantine Gregory
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About this listen

Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a titanic figure among the world's great authors, and The Brothers Karamazov is often hailed as his finest novel. A masterpiece on many levels, it transcends the boundaries of a gripping murder mystery to become a moving account of the battle between love and hate, faith and despair, compassion and cruelty, good and evil.

Public Domain (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military Military Russia
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Good reading, classic story about human reactions. exploring a challenging series of unusual life events with deep complex characters.

well read classic

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Dostoyevsky makes conscience the sword of god again. The narrative is at once mostly political and spiritual - political in that the elder Karamazov, who is murdered, is an archetype of the negligent father, whom, as is articulated in the closing arguments of the defence, is owed no loyalty by his son, since his long time misdeeds have rendered him unworthy of the name of “father”. There is an intimation of a responsibility which might well be extrapolated to the Tsar. Also the Elder, who IS a true father, is in the reverse or inverted position of being, like Christ, beyond the understanding of his flock, which is illustrated by the scene when his corpse begins to stink in the coffin, causing a number of pedantic and misguided monks to tear down his memory - these are failed children. So there is an imperative for children and parents to fulfil their roles. Clearly Dostoyevsky sees children as being very pure and only corrupted by the parent at first failing in their responsibilities.
On a spiritual level the 3 brothers represent the worldly path, the academic path and the ascetic path. The worldly path (Dimitri) is beset with women (who are mostly depicted by Dostoyevsky as compassionate hysterical trouble makers), money and violence.
The academic man (Ivan) is ultimately faced with insanity, as the pinnacle of knowledge, in the absence of living compassion, leads only to the Devil.
Finally there is the hero Alliosha, who is a bit like Christ it Brian (life of Brian) - a pure lover of the good wandering around a hateful world trying to save everyone from themselves and only really finding meaningful labour in teaching children, to stamp out wrongful convictions before they take hold.
The courtroom scenes are remarkably realistic because of a couple of points. Firstly no one knows what the final decision will be. Secondly there is a ton of missing evidence. Thirdly because the lawyers believe their own version of the truth intrinsically.
God there is so much more to say....Ivan’s conversation with Satan as well as his poem the Inquisitor and Christ is unique in all literature, although perhaps somewhat copied later by Bulgarkov. The fierce characters of the young boys is Dickensian. Their bravery is best captured by the one who lies between the train tracks to prove his courage....it’s interesting how Dostoyevsky, like Tolstoy uses the train as cataclysmic physical forces in parallel to the forces of god and human inner nature. Here the train is conquered by the child - in Anna Karrenin it is the instrument of death.

More conscience literature

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Great story and story teller that gripped me from start to finish. Warmly recommended to all.

Timeless classic

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First of all the narration of this audiobook is amazing, one of the best I've heard on Audible.

Secondly there isn't much left to say about this classic, I would just add that this book is still surprisingly enjoyable and modern, espeiclaly the phylosofical intermissions, while the story can be a bit tedious and overdramatic at times. The last 2 books are an absolute masterpiece of storytelling.

Timeless masterpiece

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I am grateful to the writer and the reader for this gift. Thank you.

A wonderful experience!

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I can see why this is considered one of the great works of literature. But you have the think as you listen. This is not for light entertainment.

Complex, challenging and wonderfully provocative

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The only concern with these exceptional classics is that a poor narration can completely ruin in. But that was not the case here. The narrator does an exceptional job at conveying the message role play, and pronounces Russian names very well.

A great classic

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Brilliantly read, clear, every character with an individual voice, never over dramatised, a very memorable audio file. Faultless work. Satisfying.

Excellent

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being of the read something twice before you even read for understanding school I feel wary of writing at length after just one listen. First impressions while I feel Dostoyevsky's characters are generally 2 dimensional, proto - Dawson's Creek circumlocutors, Fyodor Petrovich is perhaps the most brilliant buffoon this side of Don Quixote. where this piece has some oomph though is in it's philosophical explorations, from religion to humanism, to the state of post serfdom Russia, to a courtroom scene with echoes of Clarence Darrow's, later, defence of Leopold and Loeb. As food for thought this novel is fantastic.
themes of faith vs doubt abound, and while I feel personally Dostoyevsky''s call atheists act well only out of an operant conditioning undersells the humanistic , he makes a compelling argument, and challenges both interlocutors (Ivan and Aloysha). Free will is questioned in the novel too, as is obligation and redemption.
I don't know what yet to think of the suffering endemic of the piece.
While an anonymous third person narrator, the narrative voice shifts gears at times, masterfully, allowing for internal dialogue when necessary. the pace generally doesn't feel forced.
as I say, keeping this brief, I reserve the right to update my review upon further listenings.

recommended listening.

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Filled with empathy and understanding, the performance is gripping and enjoyable. The book itself is a masterpiece. Many hours of auditory enjoyment.

Extraordinary

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