A friend told me to read this book many years ago, but I didn't take the recommendation. Eventually, all things come to pass, and the brothers finally made their way onto my list. It took me 3 and a half months to finish, averaging a chapter a day, so it's by no means a quick read. The story follows the three brothers of a wealthy landowner, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, all of very different personalities. The eldest, Mitya, is a volatile, alcoholic womaniser cheated out of his inheritance by his father. Ivan, the middle brother is the academically gifted atheist who looks down on the others. Whilst the youngest, Aloysha, is a religious fanatic who has entered a monastery. I enjoyed the first half of the novel a lot more than the second, before the murder is committed, as it wasn't yet clear in what direction the story would take. Once the murder takes place, the novel becomes a murder mystery and courtroom drama.
The mystery element of the book is not left hanging for too long, we learn who it is who murders the father and steals his money before the courtcase, which is then quite frustrating to 'sit through.' We observe the bumbling court comb through the evidence with lengthy speeches that take up about a fifth of the novel, only waiting to see if Mitya will be convicted or acquitted. The speeches of the prosecutor and the defence are self-indulgent and exhausting; the prosecutor's alone spans four entire chapters. Whilst there is no doubt that the book is skillfully written with many sombre themes such as parricide, religious faith, free will, forgiveness, and redemption, I couldn't help but think Crime and Punishment managed it better. At times it felt like there were subplots that went nowhere, and not all narrative threads were satisfactorily concluded at the end. It felt like more chapters were required to tie everything up.
Rating: 3/5
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