Many Answers for: What to Live for?

“A deep, complex examination of the crucial philosophical questions of human existence, from one of the world’s most renowned novelists. ‘The mystery of human existence lies not in staying alive, but in finding something to live for.’” Earlier in this review set I mentioned that the point-of-existence in most pop novels tends to be love. Well, this is an example of that rival, unpopular perspective, but it is shrouded as a goal that is a space that can be filled with “love” by those who prefer this, while with “knowledge” or another ingredient by others. I searched for “live for” to find just what answers are given. Alyosha says: “I want to live for immortality…” Then, the narrator explains: “had he decided that God and immortality did not exist he would have immediately become an atheist and a socialist” (40). Though later sections mention that merely staying alive is in itself the point (89). Then, the idea is raised: “Mankind will find within it the strength to live for virtue, even if it doesn’t believe in the immortality of the soul! It will find it in love of liberty, equality and fraternity…’” (110). Indeed, theological motives of living to get to Heaven are the more typical reasons given in pop literature, as opposed to mere mortal love. Though as this moralist argument repeats, it turns into a sermon, and doesn’t really offer anything new for the reader to chew on. A random page in this book tends to include empty phrases that modern writers are copying after deluding them in more of this sort, such as: “And there was much more, which I cannot remember and cannot enter here.” But this passage does go on to explain that a guy told the narrator to “live for me!” And then reports that this guy died shortly thereafter, explaining why the narrator is circling around this idea, of what he should live for (375-6). There are echoes of people feeling alone, or being with others. With a few concrete details about where somebody went and what they did. It is difficult reading, as general statements tend to be intermixed with realistic horrors like: “he found taking his socks off a positive torture: they were not very clean, and neither was his linen, and now everyone could see this. Above all, he did not like his feet, for all his life he had considered the big toes on both of them to be deformed, especially a certain coarse, flat, inward-turned toenail on the right foot…” (620-1). The embarrassment this guy feels is something readers can sympathize with, and it is delivered with enough vivid detail to bring readers into this world, and to really make them feel this character’s pain.
“The murder of brutal landowner Fyodor Karamazov changes the lives of his sons irrevocably: Mitya, the sensualist, whose bitter rivalry with his father immediately places him under suspicion for parricide; Ivan, the intellectual, driven to breakdown; the spiritual Alyosha, who tries to heal the family’s rifts; and the shadowy figure of their bastard half-brother, Smerdyakov. Dostoyevsky’s dark masterwork evokes a world where the lines between innocence and corruption, good and evil, blur, and everyone’s faith in humanity is tested.”
Any modern writer who discusses the “psychology” of characters should read this novel to gather inspiration or research for ways to approach presenting what people are feeling, and thinking.
—Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Fall 2024: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-fall-2024

Now with a new cover, this is the classic story of three brothers, betrayal, and intrigue. Crime and Punishment is more of my speed when it comes to Dostoyevsky, but this is still a classic. I also love these covers Penguin is doing - they're so beautiful!

This book is meant to be read slowly, appreciating the philosophical questions that arise as you turn the pages and follow the tales of the three brothers. This book really has it all - passion, murder, courtroom drama, love. It examines what it means to truly have free will. It really is an astounding novel and though it took me some time to get through, I am richer for it. Highly recommended!