The Brothers Karamazov

By: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Constance Garnett - translator

Narrated by: Alastair Cameron

The Brothers Karamazov is a tale of a complicated and broken family headed by a father, Fyodor Karamazov, who becomes entangled with his three sons, whom he neglected, after both mothers died.

Dmitri, the eldest brother, has returned home, in search of his father who has in his possession the inheritance that Dmitri's mother left to him. The men quarrel over who should receive the money and the resentment deepens when the two men learn that they are both in love with the same woman, Grushenka.

Ivan, a superior intellectual, and Alyosha, an apprentice at a monastery, are the half-brothers of Dmitri and both try to help solve the quarrels between Dmitri and Fyodor. None of the men know each other really well, except for Ivan and Alyosha shared the same mother.

When it is discovered there is a fourth brother, Smerdyakov, who has been raised as a servant, more secrets start to emerge, and when Fyodor is murdered, one of the brothers is immediately given the blame. The Brothers Karamazov explores many different philosophical ideologies about family and religion and tests the strength of familial bonds, even those that are newly forged.

Public Domain (P)2016 A.R.N. Publications

Masterful reading of a great work

The genius of Dostoevsky is on full display in this novel.

The BK is a masterful story, plumbing the depths of human psychology long before Freud started writing about psychology. This book was loved and admired by Einstein, Wittgenstein, Freud, Leo Tolstoy, and Pope Benedict XVI, among others. It is a survey of both the human soul and the Russian soul; and the subtlety with which the human spirit is examined is dizzingly complex. It draws heavily on the insights of 1800 years of Orthodox Christian spirituality, and is a profoundly Christian novel, similar in spirit to Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.

The demands on the (oral) reader are tremendous, and at first, I wasn’t sure I cared for the narrator’s voicing. But as the story went on, I came to feel that Alastair Cameron did a wonderful job, because the book consists of many strong characters, in constant dialogue, and his reading did a great deal to keep the characters clear for the listener. Readers and listeners owe Cameron, and the translator, Constance Garnett, a great debt of gratitude.

The novel par excellence

This is an absolute masterpiece of literature and, to my mind, the greatest literary achievement. The performance is excellent as well, with Alastair Cameron differentiating characters very well in what can be a confusing mix of names and people. As I’ve said, this is a masterpiece in the fullest and truest sense of the term.

Abominable reader

It is impossible to listen to this book, the reading is awful. I gave up after an hour and will search for a new edition.

A Lengthy Multi Faceted Philosophical Novel

The Brothers Karamazov is the final novel of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It is a very lengthy and sometimes complicated philosophical novel. As an audiobook it is sometimes difficult to follow. I often had to refer to an actual hard copy of the book to capture and comprehend details of the novel. Having purchased the least expensive audiobook I could find, if I had it to do over again, I would carefully select a narrator that I enjoy listening to, even if I had to spend more for the product. There are many to choose from and it is a LONG listening experience. I am very glad I read this book, but it required endurance. Thank You...

A good, if dry, reading of a classic

I'd been meaning to read from authors like Dostoyevsky, but such texts are quite intimidating when you lack enough free time to maintain a hold of the narrative. After taking a brief job as a truck driver, I figured it was a good time to try Audible and use it for such texts. I'm grateful that I did, otherwise I'd be still somewhat ignorant of this amazing story.

Dostoyevsky does a great job of portraying a gambit of perspectives, from the pious monk to the learned man of science. The various Karamazovs all had familiar perspectives and responses that I might have had at various points in my life. Certainly, the plot of the book gave plenty of opportunity for these Karamazovs to show their depth.

The narrator did well enough, annunciating clearly and somewhat mirroring the tone of the passage. The issue is, of course, that such a long book can make it feel dry without multiple distinct voices. Still, I got what I wanted out of the experience.

Long Classic

it took me 2 months to finish this long classic. However, it was worth it. It is a reminder that while circumstances and cultures are different, the human condition is similar across time and space.

Poor narrator

I got this Audible book because it was the same translator I had for the book, to which I read along. I heartily recommend this reading process, because the narration moves your eyes along and you use another sense to understand and appreciate the book. This comes from an English teacher of 34 years experience, seventh grade through graduate school.
The problem is the narrator. His sing-song voice does not give the book the gravity it deserves in parts. Worse yet, his pronunciation of French words and phrases is atrocious. This becomes a factor because Tsarist Russian nobility spoke much French: i.e. he pronounces "c'est" as "sest". Mon Dieu!

I don’t get it

Read a lot of positive reviews so I listened to the book. There is some intriguing philosophical discussion but the story overall is not very compelling. Also I feel there were probably some things lost in translation to English, based on the sometimes weird cadence of the writing.

Excellent

I've been meaning to read this for years and never expected I'd enjoy it so much. Why didn't anybody tell me it was funny?

The narration is very good. He has a slightly odd, halting way of speaking, but his character voices are excellent. Which is very important because there's about a million of them.

Amazing book

Amazing book. A must-read for everyone and a also to be re-read many times.