It's coming down to the last few chapters of my 1045 page novel now. Here i find that i must mention the name of the translator...Konstantin Mucholsky...because i've seen various interpretions and some of the words are translated into english differently. That's why it's always better to read a book in the original language...but for people like me, who can only understand one language fluently and i struggle with two others, english will have to do. At least, i was able to get the main idea of the novel.
Dostoevsky made a masterpiece. One can only read and marvel at his precision with regard to human nature. he hit the nail on the head! Now, i am on the trial of Dmitry Karamazov. The book is tragic...i think... but there is redemption. Alyosha is a sweetheart and even if people describe the Karamazov brothers as having the bad traits of their father, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, one cannot help loving them because deep down, they are present in all of us. I cannot really understand how Dostoevsky was able to do it so well but he took certain human qualities and he separated them into three brothers and even the worst qualities, we can identify with them. we all doubt, we are all ruled by our senses at one time or the other, and we all have bountless reserves of faith. therefore, we are all Ivans, Dmitrys and Alyoshas, respectively.
another point for this book is that we already know what is going to happen....the narrator does not hold back the plot but it is the thoughts of the people that surprises us when we read this book. we read because we are interested in the thinking process of the characters and not what eventually happens. dostoevsky could have made a mystery out of the murder and not let us know that smerdyakov was the murderer but instead, he let us know. the mystery comes from the thoughts of these three karamazov brothers. we read because we want to know of what they will think. and if they will become close....and yes, it is happening....alyosha, the darling, is the linker in the book. even the worst of people love him.
on a more trivial note, i love the smell of books. sometimes i just open the book to smell how the pages smell. yes, many people may think i am a wierdo but from as long as i can remember, it is the first thing i do when i open a book. see, novels smell different from college books. and test papers smell different from novels and college books. then, there's the newspapers that have their own smell and the magazines that have a faint plastic smell. so everytime i read from this book, i smell it before i begin reading. i've tried so hard not to write or underline even though i have been tempted so many times while reading. that's one little accomplishment because to reach to almost the end and not do it, is something unheard of for me.
i could have finished reading this book a long time ago...but i put it down several times to take in all of what i read. then i have been delaying the finale because i don't want it to end. i feel a little bit sad...like how i felt when i read "Autobiography of a Yogi" and i did not want to read the last lines because it would mean that i was done reading the book. it's worth rereading though. there are many things to learn. kudos to Kenny who recommended this book to me.
really, i should be studying for the MCATs and i will...i just felt that i needed a break from the whole academic thing. so after i am done with Karamazov, i will go back to the world of academia. until then, i will be learning about life from the non-academic side.....
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