The Karamazov Brothers (Oxford World's Classics) Kindle Edition

The Brothers Karamazov is one of the greatest novels ever written. It is a book not simply to be read, but to be studied for its profound wisdom concerning the human condition. I am reviewing the Ignat Avsey translation which is titled The Karamazov Brothers. Just the fact that Avsey has given the book a new title, which he thinks is in keeping with what Dostoevsky had in mind, suggests to the reader that this translation will break with the more traditional approach taken by the reliable Constance Garnett, whose translation I have read twice.The Karamazov brothers could not be more unlike. Dmitry, the oldest brother, is a hothead who acts first and then learns to repent later for all his misdeeds; he is filled with anger and resentment and hurts deeply the people he loves most. He is the prodigal son who repents too late to be forgiven by a father he despises.Ivan, the middle brother, is an intellectual who lives in a world of ideas. He is profoundly affected by the suffering he sees in the world and rejects a God who will permit so much suffering to occur. The servant Smerdyakov listens to Ivan and then waits for a chance to put Ivan's ideas and suggestions into action. Ivan is horrified when Smerdyakov brags to him about the great crime he has committed.Alexei, the youngest brother, has decided to become a monk. He attempts to correspond to God's grace. He lives a life of self-denial and has the willingness to serve others. Like Prince Myshkin in The Idiot, another great novel by Dostoyevsky, he is an example of a good man who imitates Christ and appears, for that reason, childlike and unable to confront the evil of this world.Smerdyakov, the servant of old Karamazov, the disreputable father of the brothers, is thought to be an illegitimate son of the old man. He adores Ivan and hangs on his every word. Smerdyakov will take Ivan's philosophy and put it into practice with disastrous consequences.Three brothers, who could not be more unlike, a disreputable father, whose scandalous behavior is a driving force of the novel, an illegitimate brother, who watches and waits for his time to take decisive action, are the driving forces of perhaps the greatest psychological novel ever written. The patient reader is rewarded with a story that involves us completely in the lives of a cast of characters that represent all aspects of the human condition.The Avsey translation of this great book will take its place proudly beside the best novels in any person's library and will be taken down from time to time from the shelf, if not to be completely reread, at least to be reminded of the great genius of man.Added note. Constance Garnett has received much criticism for her translation of The Brothers Karamazov. Perhaps before deciding which translation to buy, the reader should sample a few pages from various translators to determine which seems best. As noted, I am recommending Avsey.

I recently finished Ignat Avsey's translation of The Karamazov Brothers and recommended it as the best translation. I've twice read Constance Garnett's late 19th Century translation. Thank you, Mrs. Garnett for introducing the Western world to Russian literature, buy your translations have been surpassed by more modern translation. Avsey was a native Russian speaker who lived in the UK most of his adult life. His translation is fresh, immensely readable and captures Dostoyevsky's humor, which you don't get in the Garnett translation. Avsey is particularly great at rendering dialogue, with each character having a distinctive style. His introduction, character list, timeline and extensive footnotes are most helpful. In the introduction, Avsey explains that he calls his translation "The Karamazov Brothers" instead of "The Brothers Karamazov" because adjective/noun is usual English syntax.

a beautiful book that I will read forever

The novel was profound and parts were over my head. Some chapters overly descriptive. However the book was well worth reading.

Translating anything from Russian to English is immensely difficult, let alone a singular work written by a towering master of the Russian language. I bought the Avsey translation after reading a reader's comment that it is better than the celebrated Pevear & Volokhonsky, which I had already begun. For a while, I read the two versions in parallel. For me at least, there was no comparison. Avsey's translation possesses directness and immediacy which greatly aided in understanding and enjoying this work. Pevear & Volokhonsky's version tries to replicate the Russian language's cadence and Dostoevsky's word-plays, but ends up with plodding, convoluted construction on too many occasions. This bogs down the flow of the story, which has tremendous momentum and whirlwind action. In addition, I really appreciated the fact that Avsey transliterated certain terms that have a unique meaning in Russian without equivalent in English.  For example, the word Starets. A Starets is a religious personage that exists only in Russian culture. A Starets is a charismatic mystic. An ascetic holy man. The Starets exists in a somewhat uneasy relationship with the formal, organized church. Rasputin was a Starets. Avsey explains that meaning and keeps using the transliterated term. In contrast, Pevear & Volokhonsk translate it into a 'church elder', which is nowhere near to what makes a Starets so unique and powerful. Calling the Starets a 'church elder' completely obfuscates the role of a central (I'd say foundational) character, and meaningfully diminishes the understanding of the story.  "Alyosha was passionately devoted to a church elder" imparts a very different notion from "Alyosha was passionately devoted to a mystic spiritual holy man". There are several more examples like this.In summary, I think that Pevear & Volokhonsk focused on details and got lost in the weeds. The Avsey translation captures the momentum of an action-packed murder mystery, without losing any of its powerful psychological, moral, philosophical, and religious teachings and insights.

Printing and the condition of the book was perfect.highly recommend the content as well!

Interessante

This must be my fourth or fifth time with the Brothers, but this time I am reading it after reading Joseph Frank's brilliant biography of Dostoevsky (the one volume version, not the three), which has given me so much more insight into the thinking behind the plot and the characters and in particular the conflicting world views they hold.I also spent some time sampling the various translations, having loved Constance Garnett on first reading and also enjoyed David Macduff. The one version I could not get on with is the much-praised Pevear and Volokhonsky, which I found true to the original in terms of vocabulary, as far as I am capable of judging, but lacking, for me, in the poetry and the spirit of the original. This Oxford World's Classic translation by Ignat Avsey I found very enjoyable. It seems to flow well and convey what I take to be a faithful version of the original.There can't be too many books which impress you more each time you read them. To me, this is the culminating achievement of one of the world's greatest writers and every reading reveals new treasures. Things that struck me this time include just how funny Dostoevsky can be and how cleverly he uses the "unreliable narrator" trope.If you haven't read this before or if you have read other translations, I think you will find this version fully repays your time.

With bible thin pages, ink that will smudge and fade from any sort of contact (and no choice but to smudge the end word because of the lack of margins), and the small size making you fight a little against the book to keep it open (not an edition you want to annotate) you can read from it and absorb the story just fine. It's a shame because I loved the cover of this edition so much. Doesn't help that whoever handled my copy must've played football with it or something because it was scratched and sort of dirty (?) when it arrived. (Again, a shame).For those of you that want to know about the book: it's great! Highly recommend! As with most classics that are 1000 pages or so, sometimes you feel like he's talking too much, but it doesn't drag nearly as much as most other long classics. Really engaging and thought provoking.

In recent years it has been impossible to read Dostoevsky in English without having the translations of Richard Pevear and Lara Volkhonsy thrust under your nose by eager and well meaning fools. For some unknown reason this husband and wife duo have become the literary press' darlings, with their work being cited as the "definitive" editions in English. This is a shame, because their translations are shockingly bad. Take a little stroll around the internet and you will find example after example of shoddy compromises, and just downright brazen mistranslation, flagrant enough for even non-russophones like you and me to spot.Ignat Avsey translated four of Dostoevsky's works before passing away. Reading them can only lead us to lament that he did not have more time to tackle the rest of the oeuvre. This translation, possibly his best, is sublime. This is the definitive edition of Dostoevsky's greatest novel.Richard and Lara live on, trampling through the rest of the golden age of Russian literature taking no prisoners. There's just no justice in this world.