This book was Dostoevsky’s last, published in 1880, one year before his death. It was through these ordeals that Dostoevsky developed his conservative and religious views on life that permeate his writings. Ten years after being imprisoned, he was finally released. He was then given four years of hard labor in a Siberian prison. At the last moment an order arrived commuting his sentence. One day he was taken before a firing squad while facing an open grave. For eight months the guards gave him the silent treatment, even wearing velvet soled boots to prevent any noise. After Dostoevsky’s first short story in 1849, he was arrested for supposed subversion to Tsar Nicholas I. His father was brutal when drunk, which ultimately led his serfs to pour vodka down his throat until he strangled. Somewhat surprisingly, this book was on many of their lists.įyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was born in Moscow in 1821. Nevertheless, this summer, with a bit more time on my hands, I finished it at long last! I once read a survey of Christian ministers in which they were asked to list the top five books they had read. I believe it was Mark Twain who opined that a classic book was one that everyone wanted to read, but never did. I would regularly muses that I needed to finish the book, but 936 pages of a Russian novelist seemed daunting, even if it was considered a classic. Then I started reading the book, but had to set it aside when some writing assignments piled up. I never finished it before I began primarily flying, instead of driving. I started it on audio tape when I used to drive a lot. I must confess, this particular read has been a long time coming. New York> Bantam Books, 1880 Bantam classic edition, 1981. Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov.

The brothers karamazov full book