Brothers Karamazov vs. War and Peace

Well, despite its extreme length, "War and Peace" is never ever boring...it is, among other things, just a great piece of storytelling. In that sense, it may be the better "novel." But "Brothers K" has so many philosophical asides and such depth that it may be the richer book.

The "Rebellion" chapter of Brothers Karamazov is just about the greatest thing I've ever read in my life.

To me they're really hard to compare.

Brothers Karamazov is more interesting from a philosophical perspective and has some fine set pieces.

Dostoyevsky was less concerned about realism than Tolstoy I think: War and Peace is constructed better and has superior plot design. And arguably its characters are more fully formed, as opposed um archetypes or mouthpieces for ideas.

If I had to pick one I'd say Karamzov. They're both damn awesome though.

I haven't yet read Brothers Karamazov, although it is on my list and I'm wanting to read it ASAP (probably winter break when I have time), but I find it hard to imagine a better novel than War and Peace. Like was previously said, it's the longest book I've read by over 300 pages, but it never gets boring. I'll reserve judgment until I read Karamazov though.

also don't forget tolstoy's anna karenina, and dostoevsky's crime and punishment, both often considered to be the superior works of those respective authors.

i've heard much talk of war and peace as the greatest novel ever written. you hear more talk of brothers k as a novel that is great for it's category, but generally not considered 'the' greatest. (i'm mainly talking about lit magazine top 10 lists, etc, which i do not entirely agree with). i've never read all of war and peace, but it is unique in that it's characters and relations make it timeless. personally i find dostoevsky easier, even more fun, to read, but i think tolstoy is the superior genius.

Apples and oranges, foxes and hedgehogs. As others have said, War and Peace is better as a "novel," but The Brothers K is better as philosophy or as drama. I have always enjoyed reading Dostoyevsky more than Tolstoy, but I can understand that this is really just a personal preference. The Rebellion chapter of Brothers shook me when I first read it as a teenager and was almost as powerful when I reread the book fifteen years later.

I reread most of Dostoyevsky over the last few years, reading the Pevear and Volokhonsky translations that were not available when I first read the books. They have done a wonderful job. Crime and Punishment, in particular, is much richer in their version than in the old Garnett translation I first read. Their translation of War and Peace just came out and I am looking forward to checking it out. Who knows, now that I am older, maybe I will prefer Tolstoy.

I agree completely. that and the following chapter (the grand inquisitor) are probably my favorites of the entire book.

also it's funny that "Anna Karenina" and "Crime and Punishment" are mentioned, becuase I argued that Brothers K might not be Dostoevsky's best work, and mentioned Crime and Punishment, while my professor argued that War and Peace might not be Tolsoy's best work, and he mention Anna K.

just interesting, that's all.

I've never made it through the Brothers K, though I've tried several times. I have read Crime and Punishment, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and several of each author's shorter novels.

I agree with what the others say. As a novelist, Tolstoy was better. Dostoevsky was no slouch (duh), but with books like Crime and Punishment and The Gambler, what you get is intense insight into a bizarre but somehow representative psyche. Tolsoy offers a much wider picture of society and nation, while still creating unforgettable characters.

I haven't quite finished the brothers Karamazov (I'm at the closing statements of the prosecutor). But so far I'd give a heavy favorite vote to war and peace.. I disagree that war and peace is not as philosophical. I think the whole book is making a philosophical statement and debate on determinism; while the brothers only seems to debate whether god or science ultimately rules mankind (so far).

I'm also not sure why folks like the interview with the elder so much.

Tolstoy is the high-minded artist who exalts the creative aspect as the divine essence of man among the mundane fallibility of the mind/body. Dostoevsky is the fearless navigator venturing to precipitous places, simultaneously acknowledging the inevitability of the false step while cognizant of the necessity of one's conviction to be perpetually surefooted. Tolstoy implicitly acknowledges the inevitability of death and nevertheless seeks meaning in the temporary. Dostoevsky vacillates perpetually between submission to death and the desire to triumph over it. The serene count and the prophetic madman are more alike than it first appears.

Dostoevsky wrote:

Lying in one's own way is almost better than telling the truth in someone else's way; in the first case you're a man, and in the second - no better than a bird!

Crime and Punishment is better.

Read Nabokov on Dostoevsky. I'm with Vlad...Dostoevsky is facile.

Here is a bit of subjective trivia for you lovers of literature! - I was reading a book about Literature and it mentioned these 4 as the 4 supremely great writers of all time - who did they mention?

I have visions of Helene sitting at a dining table, fully exposed from the waist up, seducing every man at the table.

I always thought that Tolstoy wrote more about the elite of Russian society and Dostoevsky more about with 'the common man.'

I felt like Crime and Punishment was a journey into insanity.

Dostoevsky is more disturbing, and Brothers Karamazov is my favorite novel, but Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are my two favorite authors. Hesse is third. Dickens fourth, though I've never been able to finish David Copperfield or The Pickwick Papers.

The Single Voice of Reason wrote:

Read Nabokov on Dostoevsky. I'm with Vlad...Dostoevsky is facile.

Ugh.

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

Debbbie Ddddd wrote:

Here is a bit of subjective trivia for you lovers of literature! - I was reading a book about Literature and it mentioned these 4 as the 4 supremely great writers of all time - who did they mention?

For as close to an objective opinion as possible on who are generally considered the be the top four greatest authors of all time, I'd go with Shakespeare, Dante, Homer, and Tolstoy.

I loved both. I'm currently reading Anna K. I've read a lot of books widely considered among the greats. I don't have the capacity or vocabulary to compare them and as such I can't say which of the two was better; they were both profound, beautiful books.

You cannot seriously say that War and Peace is never boring. The 200 pages of maundering about the nature of war at the end is boring beyond belief. The rest of War and Peace is great. Brothers Karamazov is uneven and sometimes badly written, as you would expect from Dostoevsky--some of his shorter works (the Gambler, for instance), along with Crime and Punishment, are great from beginning to end. Tolstoy is the better prose stylist than Dostoevsky, who wrote very fast to pay his debts. But Dostoevsky makes some more gripping stories. They are both great writers as a whole, but both have their faults.