So, I'm reading the Brothers Karamozov and I am not too big to admit that I'm struggling...

So, I'm reading the Brothers Karamozov and I am not too big to admit that I'm struggling. This isn't my first rodeo or anything, as I went through Crime and Punishment at a respectable rate. I found it engaging and constantly interesting. Brothers Karamozov, though?

I'm not sure if I'm just being a pleb or if it's the translation, but every character seems ready and willing to launch into in-depth speeches at a moment's notice. Entire pages devoted to one character talking at another. It would be forgiveable if the dialogue was interesting, but everyone just seems to be rehashing the same talking points and recapping the plot this far, over and over.

So, what is it, am I wrong or is it the translation?

Dostoevsky really likes to flesh out his characters so yeah the first 50 to 100 pages are often a drag, but translators for some reason don't translate to help this. Like for some reason they all fuck aroind with his quite snappy paragraphing and you end up with massive blocks of text.

The P&V translation could be the problem. Try the free Constance Garnett one.

...

What part are you at?

Pg. 150 in the P&V translation.

It's about to get good, books 5-7 & 9 are the most important in the book.
So far you only have some lead up to get to know the characters and their relationships.

Alright. I won't give up on it. But man, it's kinda frustrating that Brothers is considered by so many to be his masterpiece when it's taking so long to set up, while Crime and Punishment did its characterization as it went along, as opposed to Dostoyevsky is doing here.

I hear nothing but bad things about the Garnett TL all the time though.

C&P didn't have as complicated of a plot or themes, and there was really only one main character.

P&V?

Not for me!

It's weird to me that P&V get so much hate since they were recommended, by name, by my Russian lit professor. Went on and on about them and the quality of their translation.

Anyone who translated it as the brothers karamazov instead of the karamazov brothers is an idiot.

>You bought one of those shitty editions.

That's how it is in the Russian. It changes the meaning if you stick the Karamazov before the brothers, because having it at the end emphasizes that it's that specific family and not the concept of brotherhood
It also just sounds better

>Not getting this edition.

That is the only way to say it in Russian.
Having it the other way would be as dumb as saying the brothers Warner.
Dostoevsky didn't make it unnatural sounding, that's just the Russian word order.

You could say it the other way in Russian if you wanted to, it wouldn't be incorrect. Are you actually Russian and know this because I was under the impression they're very flexible with their word order
also
>the brothers Grimm

It wasnt hard, just fucking boring.

Which translation of C&P did you read?

Not enough love scenes or action or fantasy scenarios for you?

Just stick it out opie

The McDuff translation.

XD I am also one of the Veeky Forums posters that is best and reads good the sheep don't read IJ and FW

(Spoiler) like u I have not read Even Ulysses or GR but make sure to know the names of the good ones so to look smart on Veeky Forums our little secret cuz we know we're elite already (/spoiled)

Then the translation might be genuinely unappealing to you, which is always something to consider. P&V are my go to, but everyone has their preferences. It seems like you were complaining more about all the early exposition though so if that's the problem then just stick it out.

thats because lit doesnt know shit

That's it exactly. I like the characters, I'm invested in the plot, but the unnatural and constant exposition dumps drag everything down. I'll stick to it, though, especially as it's been said in this thread that I'm just about at the turning point.

At least there aren't two different characters with the exact same name in this one.

>he thinks most of Veeky Forums hasn't already read GR or Ulysses
kek
stay pleb, buddy

>being this hipster
Aside from one article, there is literally nobody who speaks both languages that says P&V is shit, let alone inferior to Garnett. I took a Russian class taught by a Russian prof and his immigrant TA and they both agreed that side by side with the Russian P&V is best.

Veeky Forums is just buttmad that P&V are popular. A few years ago people here were recommending the translations.

Why is Veeky Forums so hipster?

Remember that at its core it's just a crime drama.

>he doesn't understand the plot/theme dynamic

Yeah, and Lear is just about a familial disagreement and Othello is just about a jealous husband.

Super Brothers Mario

Yes I am Russian. You can technically say it either way but the way Dostoevsky has it is the far more naturally used way. Just like in English the naturally used way is the karamazov brothers.
It's just nitpicking though, as you could argue that the title should be changed as little as possible because it's a proper noun.

people on Veeky Forums still recommend their translations today, just like people in the past shit on their translations. stop pretending that Veeky Forums is a hive mind.

>Reading anything but the Avsey translation