Classic
The Brothers Karamazov
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Summary
The dissolute landowner Fyodor Karamazov is murdered, and suspicion falls on his passionate eldest son Dmitri, while the intellectual Ivan and the saintly novice Alyosha wrestle with the questions of guilt and faith the crime forces open. Dostoevsky builds the family drama into a vast argument about God, freedom, and moral responsibility, crowned by Ivan's parable of the Grand Inquisitor. The novel stands as the summit of Dostoevsky's work and one of the most profound novels ever written.
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Historical Context & Significance
Dostoevsky published the novel serially through 1879 and 1880 and died within months of completing it. Thinkers from Freud to Einstein cited it as a transformative reading experience.