Upon the untimely death of the brutal Fyodor Karamazov, a dramatic
unravelling ensues. The murder of a man who has lived solely, and
heedlessly, to satiate himself is hardly tragic, but proves to alter the
lives of his three sons. The passionate and turbulent Dmitri's enmity
with his father is well-known; the coldly intellectual Ivan realizes
that his rationalism has unexpected consequences; the infallible Alyosha
strives to keep his faith in the face of conflict. Vastly different, yet
bound by circumstance, each must resolve his culpability in the crime.
On the surface, the novel grapples with base things; money, rivalry and
murder. At a deeper level, it ponders fundamental questions concerning
free will and morality, suffering and forgiveness and, finally, the
possibility of redemption in a bleak world. Completed shortly before
Dostoyevsky's death, The Brothers Karamazov is considered to be his
richest novel.