How do I find a particular, foreign-language book to purchase?

Specifically, I'm looking for an inexpensive, maybe good, clean, used copy of Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov in Russian or Belorussian, for a friend of family. Bookfinder.com doesn't go there that I can tell. Thanks for your thoughts, suggestions or redirection!

Try Schoenhof's Foreign Books
http://www.schoenhofs.com/

ETA -- now that I look at their site, Schoenhof's seems to have changed over the years and reduced their scope -- I don't see a selelction of Russian fiction, though I believe they will import special orders (pricey!), So I retract my suggestion.

There are Russian language bookshops in New York (and possibly elsewhere in the US).

Here's one in Brooklyn offering new Karamazovs online for 16 dollars:

http://www.ruskniga.com/the-brothers-karamazov.html

and another, same price:

http://www.russianmegastore.com/productdetail.asp?productid=81216

You could also try Abebooks and limit the search to "in Russian".

I've had very good luck with Schönhof's - they're pretty much down the street from me - but yeah, special orders are a bit pricey.
Haven't been in in a little while, but I'd be surprised if they didn't have Brothers Karamazov in stock. Maybe give them a call?

Phone: 617-547-8855

That's their retail location, but I would imagine they'd be happy to help you find what you need.

>4 kiparsky:
Yeah I thought they had stuff like that but when I search Karamozov on their site I get no hits; for Dostoevsky I get only German language books; and for Russian I get only instructional stuff. But maybe I haven't figured out their search...

And yes I've always found them to be very hekpful and friendly...

>5 Crypto-Willobie:

Their search is quite possibly the worst I have ever seen. You'll find other translations of Dostoevsky under other spellings of his name (search for "hermanos", for instance, and you'll find it in Spanish), but finding the Russian original would require either that their search can handle Cyrillic (which I doubt, given how terrible it is) or that it uses the same transliteration you do. Which I also doubt. There's not even a way to browse in any languages other than the top few. There's no LT-analogue of a work, or combined author names, so you can't just say "show me everything you have by Dostoevsky regardless of how his name is spelled in a particular language" or "show me all translations of this work".

I hate suggesting this, because I hate phone calls like poison and I firmly believe that search shouldn't suck, but I suspect they have it and you'd need to call them.

Alternatively, find an ISBN on LT of a Russian edition, and google that ISBN.

Did I post in invisible ink? Is there a problem with advising to use US-based bookshops that actually specialise in Russian-language books, have an online--bilingual--presence and actually stock the book one is looking for?

Schoenhof's doesn't carry literature in Russian. I wouldn't recommend it as the first place to look for literature in any other "foreign" language either, not since the advent of Internet shopping. Its selection is comparatively poor and frequently overpriced.

>1 jasbro:

I googled "Russian bookshop New York" because I knew several Russian bookshops in NYC, but you might try choosing a geographical region that suits you best.

>7 LolaWalser: Take a deep breath...

No, we all (presumably) saw your post, which contained much helpful information, but there wasn't much for us non-O.P's to say about it. Probably jasbro is following up right now.

Sounds like you've had a bad experience with Schoenhof's? I had only good experiences in the past when as a bookseller I called them on the phone or referred my customers to them. So I mentioned them while you were still looking for your pen. Then several of us tried to figure out why a specialty shop in non-English languages would seem to have no Russian literature -- bad selection? bad search? None of which detracts from your original advice.

As it happens, I was curious enough to call Schoenhof's and ask them about this mysterious hole in their catalog. Apparently, their online catalog simply isn't very good, but they do have copies of the book in stock. So yes, they do carry literature in Russian. They just don't know how to tell you about it.

I suggested that they might want to add the caveat that "not all titles in stock are listed in our online catalog" and the gentleman at the desk seemed to think this a novel but quite an interesting suggestion, and even said he was writing it down.

Frankly, I think their website needs a bug tracker... :)

(also, I should add that the prices cited by >3 LolaWalser: are substantially better than the ones Schoenhof's listed...)

EDIT: Multitasking!

>9 kiparsky:
But I didnae cite enny prices...
I think you mean those cited by LolaWalser in post 3

Good luck to jasbro!

Thanks to you all! I've passed along some suggestions, and I'll let you know what more I learn. Best wishes ...