Yea it’s also loooong (at least it was when I first tried to read it at 17).

The Grand Inquisitor is somewhere in the middle and is a stand alone section that originally got me interested, and you see its influence on other works and is one very good reason to read Brothers. There is a similar section in The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy, for example.

I think it’s overrated and regardless of what many say it’s not that complex of a plot. It’s made more difficult than needed because each character is referred to by different names and at least after translation, is very poorly written. My opinion. It’s good to have different viewpoints.

I think you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. You shouldn’t be feeling any anxiety when your reading for pleasure. You can just keep going and if it turns out you missed an important detail, you can always go back later. And I wouldn’t worry about time investment. It may take you longer to get thru the book, but you shouldn’t worry about that if your reading for fun anyways. Go at your own pace.

that would b v helpful

that’s very true. I just hate reading things that i don’t understand cuz i don’t wanna miss out on stuff but i can always re read it i suppose

i will continue to use spark notes

crime and punishment is next up for me

why is he so famous then?

That too. I was so excited when this book came out, I thought I could just jump right back in but it became evident pretty quickly that I should have re-read the previous books first, it had been a few years since my last visit.

that’s quite the hot take

we got this

Yes I feel as if i’m starting to hit my rhythm. i just hit lulls in the book where i’m only reading a page or 2 at a time

This is a very good perspective imo. I feel as though the author really tries to explain the characters in lots of depth but it’s so much information to absorb at once. took me quite a long time to just distinguish the different personality traits of alyosha dimitri and ivan lol

One of my favorite books. There’s so many characters packed into this book and everyone is given a pretty in-depth storyline. Trying to keep track of everything can be a bit of a challenge. I found myself having to flip back and forth re-reading certain chapters or sections to understand it all. But it’s worth is because the book is so good.

The fact that each characters had multiple names was a bit confusing at first. It helped to just think of them as having legal names and nicknames. I think my copy also had a name reference guide in the front of the book so that might have helped as well.

yes possibly

I’m excited to get into the juicy parts!

Yes the religion debates can be a lot for me as well

I'm about halfway through right now. I've read a fair bit of Russian lit so the names and language aren't confusing to me, I'm just finding it very dull. Lots of debates and rants about religious concepts which, again, having read a fair bit of these and other works from the period, I just don't find those conversations interesting anymore.

I know the story is still building but so far I've been disappointed, considering how much the book has been hyped.

All the super popular contemporary novels also have men suffering abuse and dying gruesome deaths. It goes both ways.

I haven't read Things my son needs to know yet, but I also really enjoyed the other ones you mentioned. A Man Called Ove was so sweet and heart breaking. Anxious People was disarming in its heavy subject with cooky sweet characters. I just love the way he writes about people so much.

I think I need to reread the first book. I read it a while ago but enjoyed the second and third book more due to the character development.

It was a quote in the book called Life of Pi, "I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye." It was written by Yann Martel

Personal conduct

Please use a civil tone and assume good faith when entering a conversation.

“No, but one can feel desperate at any age, don’t you think? The young are eternally desperate,” he said frankly. “And books, they offer one hope —- that a whole universe might open up from between the covers, and falling into that new universe, one is saved. “

• Anne Rice, Blackwood Farm

>Superb_Tiger_8376

Oh, she is very talented, and she does a lot of research. I respect that, but I think the book series should have been finished with book 6. I think she is just dragging it out unnecessarily.