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Prior to actually reading Brother Karamazov, I recall having read a tiny excerpt from it for a literature class. That particular passage didn't really sit well with me, but I was determined to read the whole thing- and had high expectations for it. A few years later, I got my chance. I managed to avoid spoilers somehow. All I knew of Brother Karamazov was a dim memory of a BW movie version with Yul Brynner (as a kid I had a crush on him for reasons Freud would easily explain) but for the life of me I couldn't remember anything about the film except how handsome Yul Brynner looked (I still can't). So, I set to reading this novel blissfully unaware of neither the plot nor the ending- totally spoiler free. The novel blew my mind.

I repeat- the novel blew my mind. I was expecting it to be, you know, Dostoevsky at his finest- and it was. I'm trying to recall my experience of reading this novel- and sure enough it all comes to life. All the characters, even minor ones- every single one of them is masterfully portrayed. A dysfunctional family at its finest. I can still recall all the brothers-so different and yet in some ways so alike. What to say of the femme fatale Agrafena that sets a son against his father? What a character!

The Brothers Karamazov is filled with spiritual, emotional and intellectual questions and dilemmas. It is one of those books that really make you think and feel, that stir something in the depths of your soul. It is the final novel of this great author and perhaps his finest. The Brother Karamazov is a philosophical novel that comes with a great cast of characters and an interesting plot. It is a must read for sure.