The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky

Generally considered Dostoevsky's masterpiece, this novel, published in 1880, was his final literary work. The lives of Fyodor Karamazov and his three adult sons form a complex web of love, hate, jealousy, guilt, and eventually murder. Against this intense and often sordid background, the novel masterfully presents Russian life in the nineteenth century and explores the theme of what constitutes true faith.

Related Readings

"Holy Sonnet 14"—poem by John Donne

"Journey of the Magi"—poem by T. S. Eliot

"A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London"—poem by Dylan Thomas

"Another Life"—poem by Derek Walcott

"Intrusion"—poem by Denise Levertov

from Cambodia: Back to Sierra Leone?—informative nonfiction by Robert Kaplan

"Once More to the Lake"—personal essay by E. B. White

Luke 4:1–13; 2 Thessalonians 2:6–12; John 12:24–26—sacred texts

Study Guide (PDF)