Brothers Karamazov prep

All about Alyosha. Also, familiarize yourself with the Russian naming structure-I.e how partinomic names work, formal vs. I for al, and def reference nicknames. Otherwise, you'll surely get confused.

many of the russian works were being recited in public. sometimes the authors wrote works they knew were going to be read aloud to gatherings of listeners.

this is especially true with the short stories and novellas. it was more or less a stylistic phenomena at the time in russia.

especially with dostoevsky ive found he tends to get his point across even if you missed him the first time, he's certain to elaborate on a given theme until the argument is dissected and understood.

it's kind of a waste to stop and re-read something- ive found he's much more enjoyable to just keep reading until you finish a section and if you stumbled across something that really compelled you to read again than go ahead.

but i feel his work is meant to be read through. its very poetic really

Sounds like he wants me to audible.com

agreed, character lists help as a reminder when they alternate names interchangeably . pretty important

lol your speech patterns change after reading him for awhile.

different authors have different rythyms in their writing.

a lot of authors are more colorful, and use more imagery in their writing. dostoevsky is more of a mad scientist who rants, raves, and obsesses over trivial topics. some like that style, others hate it.

he was not without harsh critics.

my buddy loves tolstoy but hates dostoevsky

tolstoy is more polished in his writing style. but dostoevsky is more fulfilling imo

Westerners never gonna fully understand russian literature, do dont even try

Maybe not the most efficient, but I'd read it once through, take notes and understand the main plots and idea, then read it again (or just reread the most significant parts) and start to analyze it.

Also I'd recommend getting a version that's got a notes section (I know the P&V translation has them), they note all the different biblical and Russian lit allusions, it's really helpful.

Tolstoys matter of fact. In D you feel the struggle of cognitive evolution with all its procreation and death.

How much am I missing without having read the Bible?

wanna read some doestoevsky, but i dont care about being too thorough.

Where do I start?