The Brothers K... group read?

Planning to read The Brothers Karamazov as part of your 999 challenge? Do you have an idea on when you want to read it? Should we attempt to read it together as a group? IMO, the more the merrier... and I'm going to need all the help I can recruit to get through it! Let's talk!

edited to ask:
What edition/translation do you have?

A group read would be great, should this be the first book we read? My thinking is that when we start this on or around December 31/Jan 1st, this 700 plus tome is a good choice for the new year, the cold weather etc.

I would love to do a group read of this! :) My copy is translated by David Magarshack. I think this might be on older translation. My copy is divided into four parts. Part 1 is chapters 1-3; part 2 is 4-6; part 3 is 7-9; part 4 is 10-12 plus an epilogue. I think that it is ok to have different translations. My copy is 741 pages. I think winter is a great time to read this, too!
--BJ

I would have chosen to tackle this book later in the year, but I'll read in winter with the group rather than read alone in the spring time. Looking forward to it.

I'd like to do this group read. It's a book I really want to read but I will need encouragement to work my way through it.

I don't know what anyone else plans, but I am inclined to read it steadily over a longish period. I do better with big books if I have some others on the go at the same time.

I think the other thread suggested February for a start date. Sounds good to me. Now that I think about it, maybe BK is something that has to be eased into and will probably be read in conjunction with other books.

I am on board for February. I still have to find a copy of the book!

February sounds good to me, too.
--BJ

I'm in! February sounds great for me, too.

My copy is a Signet Classic translated by Constance Garnett. It's divided into 4 parts as well (similar to BJ's, I think). I haven't read many translated books, so I hope I like this one!

I'm in too. Earlier this year I attempted to read The Brothers Karamazov and only made it to page 29. Admittedly, I own a very odd edition of the book. The book is printed in two columns on each page in a very tiny font size but only 410 pages in length. The translator is Constance Garnett.

I'm hoping that with support I can finally cross this book off my tbr list. It will also count in my 999 Challenge category "Gaps in my Reading".

I'm in too, as long as I have time. Or if one of you can invent a 36-hour reading day for me.

>10 socialpages: It will also count in my 999 Challenge category "Gaps in my Reading".

Oooh, good category.

I think that the sheer satisfaction of having read this book will energize us in our 999 quests.

I'm in too! I need to get a copy first, tho.

>10 socialpages:: socialpages, do you feel like the issue was with the layout or the translation? Or both? Garnett edited my copy too, so now I'm worried!

Fasciknitting (love your name by the way - I'm assuming you're a knitter like me). I think the main issue was the tiny print and the layout though the advantage of this was a fairly light manageable book. BUT BK is full of difficult discourses on god and good/evil which I must admit were hard to understand. So was it the translation or just me? Not sure but I know I need help to understand what Dostoyevsky was talking about most of the time - I also want to find out who the murderer is.

For what it's worth, I read a few pages of a translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky published by Vintage Classics in the library and I was quite happy with both the translation and the print size.

#16 I keep hearing what great translators they are for lots of books.
--BJ

I'm torn--I like group reads but I was planning Anna Karenina as my "big Russian novel' for this year. I have The Brothers Karamazov but it is a large, heavy leather bound Constance Garret translation with 2 column pages. I would have to buy a paperback so i could carry it with me--and a good translation. Any suggestions from anyone on a good translation in paperback--preferably unabridged?

February would also be a good time for me to start.

Hi Musicmom41:

I have a Barnes and Noble Classic edition that appears not too heavy to carry around, translated by Constance Garnett and includes a list of characters, introduction and I believe, study notes. I am also reading Anna K for the 999. I got tired of looking at these books sit year after year, so I decided to tackle them both.

Picked up my copy of the Bros K today! Now I'm all set.

I'm joining in too. Have to find a copy

I wonder... once we all have our copies in our libraries if the title will appear in our 'commonly shared books'?

I hope so - it's a very strange list at the moment!

Anna Karenina is one of my all time favorite reads, a rare, true 5 star book. Definitely choose Anna Karenina over The Brothers Karamazov if you have to.

With The Brothers Karamazov I would personally recommend the Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky translation. The Constance Garnett translation is a little dated but both translations are well respected and beautifully done.

I might join in and re-read parts of The Brothers Karamazov with you.
I love Russian novels and all the politics, romance, and psychology that runs through the stories.

I don't think I'll be able to do that one this year, but I'll be interested to see what you all think. It's been years since I read it.

Hi everyone. Count me in as a maybe please. I read Anna Karenina earlier this year and would love to read another book by a Russian author, but it will depend how I go in January with my Jane Austen reading. The Brothers Karamazov looks very interesting and it would fit into my 1001 Books Category, but I won't know for sure whether I will want to join in or not until you're about to start.

Regarding the best translation, I found this on Wikipedia:

"In 1990 Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky released a new translation which won a PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize in 1991 and garnered positive reviews from The New York Times Book Review and Joseph Frank, who praised it for being the most faithful to Dostoevsky's original Russian. The translation by Andrew R. MacAndrew is also highly regarded."

It's on my list too! I have the Everyman's Library hardcover edition (sweet!). Not sure who the translator is.

Winter is a good time to read Dostoevsky. Dickens, too.

Just checked. The current Everyman edition IS the Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Yay.

Thanks for all the input on the translator. I'm really interested in the Pevear and Volohkonsky edition, but the copy at my public library is also a Constance Garnett!! I'll keep looking though... we still have time :)

Maybe, just maybe, I'll join you, but it'll be in Dutch - there is probably only one translation ;-)

I'm going to try to do this group read--when will it start. I need to get the new translation because the one I own is too heavy and the print in two columns is too dense to enjoy the experience. It may take me a while to track down the Everyman's edition.

I think we've agreed to start in February.

Thanks, VictoriaPL

I'm in! I have my P&V translation ready to go, and I'll see you all in February.

The jury's still out on whether the 999 challenge is realistic for me this year since I'm in my first year of nursing school (maybe I can make textbook category,) but I'm so interested in what you all are reading!

I'm in. I have the hardcover Barnes & Noble, Garnett translation. 720 pages including endnotes, etc.

I have two Doestoevskys on my list, and this one is about 600 pages longer than the other! : But I've loved everything I've read by him, so I'm not too daunted.

Anyone else think it's strange that we chose the shortest month to read the longest book? :P

#35 stypulkoski

For motivation not to linger too long? ;-)

So at my local used bookstore today I came across a nice older edition of TBK. The translation is by Alexandra Kropotkin; can anyone tell me how this translation compare to Garnett's?

#36
I'm definitely not complaining - this is certainly a cold weather book. ;)

I've got a recent Dutch translation, and will be happy to join in!

#30 jebronse There are two Dutch translations: the older one called De gebroeders Karamazov and the new De broers Karamazov. The last one is awarded with the Martinus Nijhoffprijs 2007, the biggest Dutch translation price.

I might join, it fits my Really Thick Books I Plan to Read category. The Dutch translation by Arthur Langeveld counts 941 pages. But the last time I tried to read it (which was also the first time) I stranded at page 468...

I'm in! I was going to put it in my 999 challenge anyway, but this will be so much better. I bought the Pevear and Volokhonsky edition several months ago and haven't done anything with it beyond admire its bright red cover.

I'm in. I have an old two-volume Penguin translation by David Magarshack. But with the excellent advice above, I'll hunt down a P&V translation.

So how does the Group Read thing work?

Ooh! I'll join in. It wasn't down on my 999 list but it's been lurking in my TBR for 10 years and I have spaces in my Classic Literature category. My copy is a translation by Ignat Avsey.

I've read this years ago. It fits in my category "Books I have read before", so I'll join you. In February, with a Dutch translation.

I might, but it depends on getting hold of one at the right time from one of the libraries.

I got my copy today, its a Wordsworth Classic, trans by Constance Garnett

Mine is an e-book that is also translated by Constance Garnett. So I'm ready for February.

I'm totally in! so long as my copy I got through paperbackswap comes in time. It was supposedly mailed today ... I've been planning on reading the Brothers K for YEARS now. Making it a group read might actually help me do it this time round.

May I play too? Even though I'm not doing a 999 challenge? This book has been on my list for a long time, and this seems a great way to attempt it!

Absolutely! The more the merrier in a group read! :)
--BJ

Me too me too, I have a "Russian authors" category anyway and I haven't read The Brothers Karamazov yet.

I think my mom has an old Hungarian edition somewhere, I'll probably read that one if she knows where it is. Though it's also available online:
http://mek.oszk.hu/04000/04000/html/index.htm

Oh, this is going to be so much fun! I read this when I was 14 or 15 and my vague memories are all those of a shallow teen-ager--basically all I remember was that Demetri was kinda hot. So unless this is Dostoevsky's sole foray into the genre of chick-lit, it will all be new to me.

Ridgeway

I also read it as a teenager and again when I was in my 20's. It was a favorite book of mine and I'm looking forward to reading it again to see how I will like it now. I did like Demetri-- :-)

You can count me in on this too. It sounds like fun. I have the Constance Garnett translation.

I'd like to join in. I will have to get a copy from the library. :)

Well, we're about 2 weeks away from February. Is everybody still game for the Brothers K?

I've been reading some threads on other group reads and thought we could do a similar thing with spoiler and non-spoiler discussion threads.
Thoughts?

I am getting excited about this one. My daughter told me today that it is a great book. Two threads is fine with me for spoiler and nonspoiler. Yea!
--BJ

I'm still game for this. I was wondering how the discussion threads were going to work, spoiler and non spoiler threads make sense to me.

I'm still in, too!

I'm probably insane for doing this AND the 75 challenge War and Peace group read... but, yes, I'm still in.

Me too!

This is the only way I'll read this again, so I'm starting with you all at least! It is getting harder to reread when I keep seeing new books every day on LT that I want to read, but I love that new red cover so I'm in! :-)

Me too! I've even roped my mother on board, but as she's not too good with computers she's not on LT:)

You can write a mother-daughter POV! :-)

I'm still in, my copy is sat on the stairs waiting to be read

I'm off to pull my copy down off the shelf in eager anticipation...

Count me in too, please! My copy is on my book stand!

I got a copy from the library. It's translated by Andrew R. MacAndrew. Is this one okay or should I look for some of the other translations? I picked it because it was a paperback and not as torn up as some of the older copies.

You can use any translation you want! I'm looking forward to reading it with all of you!

I'm in too. I bought the new Pevear & Volokhonsky (hope I spelt that last name correctly) just to make it that much easier for me to read this book. Can't wait to start.

I think I'm in. I want to try it.

My library system appears to have mostly Penguins Classic editions, which are tranlated by a David McDuff, and a few Modern Library editions, which are tranlated by a Constance Garnett. The B&N has a B&N Classics copy for less than $9, which I suppose I could slip in under my no-buying-books radar. It's also translated by Constance Garnett.

Skimming this thread, a lot of people have a Constance Garnett translation and several have a Pevear and Volokhonsky as well. There doesn't seem to be a set tranlation we are trying to read? Or one more recommended than the others?

Looking forward to tackling this with ya'll.

I saw this book mentioned on a couple of different threads that I decided to check it out. Now my curiosity is peaked and I am going to have to check this book out at the bookstore to see what everyone is talking about. I read a little snippet on Borders and found that very interesting. If I am able to buy the book next week I may decide to join this group read. Hopefully it will be available next week when I go visit Borders again.

I will let you know if I am able to buy the book.

70> Pevear and Volokhonsky are making a name for themselves as translators of Russian lit. I've only heard good things about them.

However, I work at a bookstore and have had students come in with a directive from their teacher to find the McDuff translation. Obviously a teacher's going to want everyone on the same page, which may be the only reason the teacher specifies the translation.

And I believe the Constance Garnett translation was done long enough ago that it's no longer under copyright. So her name will probably be seen on many "bargain" versions.

If I participate in _The Brothers Karamazov_ or _War and Peace_ group reads (and I'm still thinking), it'll be with the P&V translation.

Ditto if I were to read _Don Quixote_ for the group read, even though I think I have the -- Tobias Smollet? translation somewhere, I'd probably get the Edith Grossman translation.

And if I pick up and read the rest of _Kristin Lavransdatter_ (only read first book/part), it would be the Tina Nunnally translation.

But that's just me. YMMV.

I don't think that for the purposes of this group read, that we need to be picky about who the translator was. We can always compare how one translation differs from another -- just don't decide not to participate because you don't have the "right" translation.

73> In my case, it's not for the purposes of the group read, it's for the purposes of my pleasure in reading. Even in non-professional reviews like some of those here at LT, you hear people commenting about the quality of a translated work. I want to stick to what I've heard is the highest quality, so I can come closest to experiencing the book as the author wrote it.

Yes, I have read some very badly translated books! Especially, for some reason, those translated into English from Swedish or Norwegian. I have found it more pleasurable to these in the German translation than the English one, despite the sad state of my German! Anyway, I was more concerned that someone might not take part in reading The Brothers Karamazov because they didn't have the "right" translation, or their library didn't have the recommended one.

Alright, I'm in too.

And now that I've posted, I can't back out. :-) This will fit in my "Lost Book Club" category.

I'm getting the book this afternoon. What is the plan? We read & talk about it when we finish? Or are we reading a chapter (or a number of chapters) at a time, then discuss?

I would prefer the latter - there is more chance I'll finish it that way! :-)

The library had it today, so I'm at least half in. I've got the Signet Classics edition. Translated by Constance Garnett, and 'edited and with a foreword by Manuel Komroff'. Which may mean that it is abridged although it doesn't come right out and say so. Whatever, it's what is available to me.

I've done it. I'm officially definitely no-turning-back going to try to read The Brothers Karamazov. I brought a copy at the B&N today. After reading around a bit online, I chose to get the newer Pevear/Volokhonsky tranlation. An added benefit is that I like the cover on that one. Bold and bright. Good for looking at from the corner of my eyes as it sits on the opposite side of my desk.

4 Parts
12 Books and an Epilogue
97 Chapters
796 Pages
What have I gotten myself into? =O

I also picked up a copy of The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver from the bargain section.

I was planning to join you, but I can't find the book anywhere. Apparently the Dutch translation is out of print. Never mind, I thought, the local library has two copies. I asked yesterday, and they can't find them. So unless the brothers come falling from the sky, I guess I won't be able to read it in february. Quite sad, I was looking forward to it.

judithann I was also wondering if there would be a reading schedule, this way I would also feel the need to read along at the right time and also I don't forget as many parts that I want to comment about.

Well, actually, I have the same problem as jebronse: my library should have the book, but it's not actually there. Meanwhile, I have committed to read another big book in February (as well as a number of shorter ones), so I'm not sure I'll get round to these Brothers!

If the library can find it back, maybe I'll still join in.

In Case there is anyone else out there in the Group read who only checks starred posts:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/56444
http://www.librarything.com/topic/56443