historymatters Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Trying to decide between Crime and Punishment or Brother's Karamazov My son is pensive and likes philosophical discussions. Which one do you recommend and why? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Brothers Karamazov gets my vote but mainly for the Grand Inquisitor chapter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 I slightly prefer "Brothers Karamazov", but we actually read both when I was in high school. I don't think either would be a mistake, to be honest. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstharr Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 Your son must have really misbehaved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 My dd says neither, read Tolstoy instead, lol. War and Peace or Anna Karenina will provide full doses of pensive philosophy in a more interesting fashion, according to her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 3 hours ago, katilac said: My dd says neither, read Tolstoy instead, lol. War and Peace or Anna Karenina will provide full doses of pensive philosophy in a more interesting fashion, according to her. I think Les Miserables,Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky novels may be too much for 1 year. I have Tolstoy short stories scheduled for this year. However, I would like to include Anna Karenina as an audiobook his senior year. How would she describe the difference in writing styles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted June 7, 2018 Author Share Posted June 7, 2018 Bump... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 Definitely Brothers. I am not much for Russian Literature myself and really enjoyed it immensely. I found it more readable for a newbie like myself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 1 hour ago, SanDiegoMom in VA said: Definitely Brothers. I am not much for Russian Literature myself and really enjoyed it immensely. I found it more readable for a newbie like myself. Agree—only little hack is keeping a cheat sheet of the three Russian names one has, plus nickname ? Alyosha, Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov and 10 other derivatives ? 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I'd just let the student choose - you really can't go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted June 7, 2018 Author Share Posted June 7, 2018 44 minutes ago, Bluegoat said: I'd just let the student choose - you really can't go wrong. I could let him read the synopsis and get his opinion. Usually, he prefer that I pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 2 hours ago, historymatters said: I could let him read the synopsis and get his opinion. Usually, he prefer that I pick. You might as well ask. If he doesn't have an opinion, you're no further behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 My son read Crime and Punishment, Brothers Karamazov, and War in Peace. Crime and Punishment is his all time favorite book, but he said that it is dark. The protanganist is apparently poor, hungry, and miserable for most of the book; in contrast, Brothers Karamazov is about a rich family with a philosophical crisis. So he said that it depends on what you are after. He absolutely prefers Dostoevsky to Tolstoy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share Posted June 8, 2018 Well, he chose C and P. I'm a little disappointed, as I actually think he'd prefer BK, with its philosophical bent. So, I hope he'll appreciate C & P. I think I will read BK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Trying to decide between Crime and Punishment or Brother's Karamazov My son is pensive and likes philosophical discussions. Which one do you recommend and why? Thanks! On 6/6/2018 at 9:56 AM, historymatters said: Should I go with The Stranger by A. Camus or The Trial by F. Kafka And why? Thanks! CROSS-POSTING this on both of your threads... (:D Because of both of these queries about Lit. for next year... oh please! ... be sure to include some LIGHTER works and some works with POSITIVE worldviews in there for balance! Teens can SO easily be swayed into an overly dark place in their thinking by an over-abundance of literature that is filled with nihilistic or dark or despairing philosophies. Some positive or inspiring works with some philosophy or thinking: - Death Comes for the Deconstructionist (Taylor) - The Man Who Was Thursday (Chesterton) - The Screwtape Letters (Lewis) - The Great Divorce (Lewis) - The River Why (Duncan) - A Canticle for Leibowitz (Miller), followed by Anathem (Stephenson) - Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) -- not heavy on the philosophy, but a "ripping read", and ultimately positive in worldview Just for fun of exploring the history of philosophical movements: - Sophie's World (Gaardner) And for fun discussions around the dinner table: - The Pig Who Wanted to Be Eaten (Baggini) And finally, just for laughs to lighten up: - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy + The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Adams) - Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective Agency (Adams) - works by P.G. Wodehouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 On 6/6/2018 at 11:52 AM, historymatters said: I think Les Miserables,Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky novels may be too much for 1 year. I have Tolstoy short stories scheduled for this year. However, I would like to include Anna Karenina as an audiobook his senior year. How would she describe the difference in writing styles? Her in-depth analysis of Dostoevsky: ugh, so boring and slow! Whereas the 1,200 pages of War and Peace apparently flew by, lol. My guess on interpreting that would be that War and Peace has more external action and tells more of a typical story, but she dipped into Russian lit on her own so I'm not sure. That usually holds true for her - for example, she liked Dante's Inferno and Paradise Lost, disliked Candide and Everyman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 4 hours ago, Lori D. said: CROSS-POSTING this on both of your threads... (:D Because of both of these queries about Lit. for next year... oh please! ... be sure to include some LIGHTER works and some works with POSITIVE worldviews in there for balance! Teens can SO easily be swayed into an overly dark place in their thinking by an over-abundance of literature that is filled with nihilistic or dark or despairing philosophies. Some positive or inspiring works with some philosophy or thinking: - Death Comes for the Deconstructionist (Taylor)- The Man Who Was Thursday (Chesterton) - The Screwtape Letters (Lewis) - The Great Divorce (Lewis) and Till We Have Faces - The River Why (Duncan) - A Canticle for Leibowitz (Miller), followed by Anathem (Stephenson) -Read this past year - Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) -- not heavy on the philosophy, but a "ripping read", and ultimately positive in worldview Just for fun of exploring the history of philosophical movements:- Sophie's World (Gaardner) And for fun discussions around the dinner table: - The Pig Who Wanted to Be Eaten (Baggini) And finally, just for laughs to lighten up: - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy + The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Adams) - Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective Agency (Adams) - works by P.G. Wodehouse Thank you, Lori; I agree. My son has had struggles with depression, so I am very careful. Several on your list are already on mine. I've highlighted in bold those which are also on my list. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 31 minutes ago, katilac said: Her in-depth analysis of Dostoevsky: ugh, so boring and slow! Whereas the 1,200 pages of War and Peace apparently flew by, lol. My guess on interpreting that would be that War and Peace has more external action and tells more of a typical story, but she dipped into Russian lit on her own so I'm not sure. That usually holds true for her - for example, she liked Dante's Inferno and Paradise Lost, disliked Candide and Everyman. Just shows the fascinating differences in individuals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 1 hour ago, katilac said: Her in-depth analysis of Dostoevsky: ugh, so boring and slow! Whereas the 1,200 pages of War and Peace apparently flew by, lol. My guess on interpreting that would be that War and Peace has more external action and tells more of a typical story, Ah, no!!! No, no, no! Dostoevsky was delicious, philosophical, moving, powerful, insightful. Crime and Punishment was his favorite book of all time! And he has read a LOT. War and Peace was just action. Ho Hum. The best part about War and Peace from DS's point of view was the philosophical discussion of who impacts history - the little people or the famous people/leaders. Isn't it wonderful how different we all are! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Candide was also wonderfully philosophical, and from the point of view of Lori, it was definitely more up-lifting. DS's second favorite book! DS is currently going after Don Quixote - also more positive. Post modern centuries before post modern! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 6 hours ago, lewelma said: Candide was also wonderfully philosophical, and from the point of view of Lori, it was definitely more up-lifting. DS's second favorite book! DS is currently going after Don Quixote - also more positive. Post modern centuries before post modern! Candide was made into an opera by Leonard Bernstein. Don Quixote is on my son's World Lit. list this coming year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 I think that Brothers is the better novel but that Crime and Punishment is more approachable for a high school student. I love Tolstoy but think Anna Karenina is much better than War and Peace. I know it’s all very subjective! Les Miserables is a slog, even for well-read adults. Notre Dame de Paris is more approachable, IMO, still with much to think about. I agree about including some positive works, but Dostoevsky is hopeful and has a distinctly redemptive perspective. I don’t know what grade your son will be in, it sounds like 10 or 11, but I am saving the modern existentialist stuff like Sartre and Camus for senior year, I agree that Candide is a great choice, too. So many books, so little time, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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