Help me understand the Brothers Karamazov

By silver_market

I remember hearing somewhere (can’t even place where) that The Brothers Karamazov is supposed to be one of the best books ever. I finally had some time and grabbed it from Project Gutenberg, and I made it through the first four “books,” but I honestly struggled. Part of it is just figuring out who’s who. It’s hard to tell what actually distinguishes one person from another beyond like vague vibes, and then when the dialogue starts it’s not always clear who is speaking to whom. Also there are so many bits that feel kind of random. Like the sentences don’t seem to connect, and then later I’m expected to somehow read between the lines and conclude something that doesn’t feel laid out. I remember them talking a lot about this huge crime like it’s already a big deal, but I don’t think it’s happened yet in the sections I read. And earlier, in book two maybe, there’s that scene at a priest’s place where he weirdly kisses the guy’s feet because he showed up late, and then everyone just moves on like that fixes everything. So I’m not sure if I’m messing up with the translation or if I got tricked by the hype. It’s making me suspicious because when I look up Karamazov on YouTube, it’s basically Jordan Peterson stuff only. If I read Crime and Punishment instead, would it actually be more straightforward?