Is The Brothers Karamazov a very difficult read? The religious themes interest me but I’m not familiar with the history of Russia that may be needed to fully understand the circumstances of the story. I may be over thinking it but some of my favorite theologians have talked a lot about Dostoevsky‘s work and I’ve been thinking about reading some of his work for awhile but get intimidated by it as I usually read fantasy or sci fi. Would it be helpful to utilize a guide for The Brothers Karamazov like I remember using for some more difficult books in college?
by Cat_0verlord
3 Comments
I wouldn’t recommend to start with Brothers Karamazov. I’d start with something shorter like White Nights to get into his writing style and to see if you actually enjoy it before you tackle the long ones.
It might be helpful to take a look into Dostoyevsky’s life through a short biography or something of that sort to have some feel for the time and him as the author. Then again you can always look things up if you find something you don’t quite understand while reading or that seems odd to you.
It won’t be the easiest read, especially if you normally prefer Sci-Fi/ Fantasy but it’s a great book and you‘ll be glad you read it if you decide to pull through
No it’s not really difficult in the way you’re imagining. Besides the fact that it’s long, the character names can be confusing, and some of the deeper thematic elements may fly past your head, it’s not bad. You won’t have a hard time following the general story and enjoying it.
It’s not particularly difficult to get through. The main difficulties are length and that there are a few rather lengthy digressions so it can take a moment to remember what was happening in the narrative when the digression/side story ends.
I don’t think you really need to do much research on Russian history to appreciate the story. You get a feel for the setting pretty quickly. However, if you aren’t familiar with Russian literature, it would help to do some quick research into Russian names and diminutives/nicknames.
In terms of interpreting TBK I guess a guide could help. It’s pretty explicit about its themes so I don’t think it’s necessary, but I’m sure secondary sources could help guide your reading. Personally, I would just read it and then turn to secondary sources once you’ve finished it if you want to dig into it more.