A literary feast

Regular readers may remember how I complained about the chore of reading The Brothers Karamazov a few months back. I did eventually finish the book, though I skipped the long chapter recounting Father Zosima's life story. Actually I thought the story picked up considerably in the second half, and became quite compelling toward the end.

Even so, I sympathize with the filmmakers of the new movie version, as reported by "America's finest news source," The Onion.

Incidentally, I'm now working my way through Anna Karenina. These Russian authors really weren't into fast-paced storytelling, were they?

Comments

[Ben]

Tolstoy, like Shakespeare, is much better in the original Russian.

Быть или не быть,
Это - вопрос.

(Blimey, Typepad's better than I thought!)

[Michael Prescott]

Shakespeare is better in the original Russian?

[Zerdini]

Shakespeare is better in the original Russian? - MP

Perhaps it is! lol

[The Major]

How about that for a Shakespeare controversy?

[Bruce Siegel]

Hey, I'm in the middle of Anna Karenina, too. Not as ambitious as you, though, I'm watching rather than reading. I chose the 1977 10-episode Masterpiece Theater version. (Instant streamed from NetFlix.)

It's good! And I'm glad the storytelling isn't quick. Nothing better, to my taste, than the opportunity to immerse myself in another time and place, and get to know some characters well.

[Michael Prescott]

"And I'm glad the storytelling isn't quick. Nothing better, to my taste, than the opportunity to immerse myself in another time and place, and get to know some characters well."

I don't mind getting to know the characters. What I find tedious are the lengthy, detailed discussions of Russia's socioeconomic problems. I would guess that little if any of this material made its way into the miniseries.

[Bruce Siegel]

"What I find tedious are the lengthy, detailed discussions of Russia's socioeconomic problems. I would guess that little if any of this material made its way into the miniseries."

There was a bit of it. Not nearly as much as in the novel, I'm sure. Mostly from Costya, who, according to Wikipedia, is Tolstoi's mouthpiece. He's the character I related to most easily.

[Bruce Siegel]

To clarify—I wasn't just saying that I like Costya because he grapples with economic and social issues. (Spiritual matters too, come to think of it, in his own agnostic way.)

More than that, I like the way he lives his life and relates to others. I can't imagine myself as anyone else in the book, really.

[Michael Prescott]

Levin (Kostya) is probably the most appealing character in the novel, and the one clearly patterned on Tolstoy himself. I must admit, though, to a certain sympathy for Alexei Karenin, the cuckolded husband, who is a bit of a martinet but conducts himself with as much dignity as possible under the circumstances. (At least so far - I'm only halfway through.)

[anonym]

Actually, the joke Brothers Karamazov filming sounds like the real production of the whole of Faust, Part Two from a few years ago. In general, though, if you want short works you should try German rather than Russian prose.