The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

I read this with a group of people who were all in a group on Facebook led by the inimitable Anna Barker, a Russian Literature professor and an all round enthusiastic teacher. We read it over 100 days, whoch is about 7-8 pages a day, which sounds extremely reasonable as a pace to read at, but this book is slow. I mean molasses slow. The hardest part about this is that I read the book initially as a teenager, and I loved it. I am now somewhat afraid to reread previously loved books because my older self has a totally different view. I was so much older then, I am younger than that now. There was so much I did not know, which made the book simpler and more compelling. Now it is a twisted mess. The themes of spiritual malaise, Faustian bargains, and philosophical paradigms are ever present. What you see is not exactly what you get, as so much is hidden somewhere between the lines as his characters showcase different beliefs and ethics, leaving us to pick up the pieces. The storytelling is tense and replete with drawn out buildups, that are usually redeemed by deeply poignant payoffs. The plentiful and fairly diverse cast of characters act as case studies of societal ills that remain today, and we are left to grapple with them. Dostoevsky leaves us sad and reconciled to our human state.