The Brothers Karamazov also translated as The Karamazov Brothers, is the
final novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent
nearly two years writing The Brothers Karamazov, which was published as
a serial in The Russian Messenger from January 1879 to November 1880.
Dostoevsky died less than four months after its publication.The Brothers
Karamazov is a passionate philosophical novel set in 19th-century
Russia, that enters deeply into the ethical debates of God, free will,
and morality. It is a spiritual drama of moral struggles concerning
faith, doubt, judgment, and reason, set against a modernizing Russia,
with a plot which revolves around the subject of patricide. Dostoevsky
composed much of the novel in Staraya Russa, which inspired the main
setting. Since its publication, it has been acclaimed as one of the
supreme achievements in world literature.Although written in the 19th
century, The Brothers Karamazov displays a number of modern elements.
Dostoevsky composed the book with a variety of literary techniques.
Though privy to many of the thoughts and feelings of the protagonists,
the narrator is a self-proclaimed writer he discusses his own mannerisms
and personal perceptions so often in the novel that he becomes a
character. Through his descriptions, the narrator's voice merges
imperceptibly into the tone of the people he is describing, often
extending into the characters' most personal thoughts. There is no voice
of authority in the story (see Mikhail Bakhtin's Problems of
Dostoevsky's Poetics for more on the relationship between Dostoevsky and
his characters). In addition to the principal narrator there are several
sections narrated by other characters entirely, such as the story of the
Grand Inquisitor and Zosima's confessions. This technique enhances the
theme of truth, making many aspects of the tale completely
subjective.Dostoevsky uses individual styles of speech to express the
inner personality of each person. For example, the attorney Fetyukovich
(based on Vladimir Spasovich) is characterized by malapropisms[citation
needed] (e.g. 'robbed' for 'stolen', and at one point declares possible
suspects in the murder 'irresponsible' rather than innocent). Several
plot digressions provide insight into other apparently minor characters.
For example, the narrative in Book Six is almost entirely devoted to
Zosima's biography, which contains a confession from a man whom he met
many years before.
