--- product_id: 5791845 title: "The Brothers Karamazov: Introduction by Malcolm Jones" price: "R1449" currency: ZAR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/5791845-the-brothers-karamazov-introduction-by-malcolm-jones store_origin: ZA region: South Africa --- # Award-winning translation & premium edition Classic literary masterpiece Deep psychological insight The Brothers Karamazov: Introduction by Malcolm Jones **Price:** R1449 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📖 Unlock the mind’s greatest drama — don’t just read, experience The Brothers Karamazov! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Brothers Karamazov: Introduction by Malcolm Jones - **How much does it cost?** R1449 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/5791845-the-brothers-karamazov-introduction-by-malcolm-jones) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Collector’s Quality Edition:** Printed on acid-free cream paper with silk ribbon marker, decorative endpapers, and elegant foil-stamped cloth cover. - • **A Must-Have for Thought Leaders:** Join thousands of readers who rate it 4.6 stars and elevate your personal library with this intellectual gem. - • **Psychological Fiction at Its Peak:** Ranked #1,993 in Psychological Fiction, this novel offers unparalleled character complexity and suspense. - • **Timeless Intellectual Masterpiece:** Dostoevsky’s profound exploration of morality, faith, and family dynamics that shaped modern thought. - • **Definitive Pevear & Volokhonsky Translation:** Experience the acclaimed, award-winning English version that captures every nuance and subtlety. ## Overview The Brothers Karamazov is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s final and most celebrated novel, blending a gripping murder mystery with profound philosophical and psychological themes. This edition features the award-winning Pevear & Volokhonsky translation, introduced by Malcolm Jones, and is presented in a premium Everyman’s Library format with acid-free paper and elegant binding. Highly rated by over 1,200 readers, it remains a cornerstone of classic literature and psychological fiction. ## Description Dostoevsky’s greatest novel is a story of murder told with hair-raising intellectual clarity and a feeling for the human condition unsurpassed in world literature. Fyodor Dostoevsky’s final novel, published just before his death in 1881, chronicles the bitter love-hate struggle between a larger-than-life father and his three very different sons. The author's towering reputation as one of the handful of thinkers who forged the modern sensibility has sometimes obscured the purely novelistic virtues—brilliant characterizations, flair for suspense and melodrama, instinctive theatricality—that made his work so immensely popular in nineteenth-century Russia. This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky—the definitive version in English—magnificently captures the rich and subtle energies of Dostoevsky’s masterpiece. With an introduction by Malcolm Jones. Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket. Everyman’s Library Classics include an introduction, a select bibliography, and a chronology of the author's life and times. Review: Binging with Dostoevsky's 'Breaking Bad.' The Brothers Karamazov just the right challenging read for a long winter's months - More than 50 years after I first read 'The Brothers Karamzov' while in high school (my existential phase, which became more than a phase), I re-read it as a part of our successful "read the classics" program with my wife in December 2014. And the novel, read through a second time (and possibly more closely than the first time) "holds up" amazingly -- although it stands in stark contrast to much of what is around nowadays in both form and content. After all, a novel where some paragraphs are three or four pages long is not about to get to the top of today's Best Seller lists. But it's worth the time and effort Dostoevsky demands. His characters are complex and provide some insights into the worlds of pre-Revolutionary Russia that would be lost to history had Dostoevsky not taken on this massive "psychological" novel. The challenges faced by the three Karamatzov brothers (and their half brother) may seem unusual today. After all, nearly 150 years of modernity have passed since the patrimony in the family Karamazov caused the three brothers -- Alexi, Ivan, and Dimitri -- to face the various insults and injuries put upon them by their monstrous father. And as close readers realize, it is the fourth brother who has the most to be angry about, because he was the product of the rape of a girl from the town by the elder Karamazov. A crime novel, a "psychological" novel, and series of meditations that helped give rise to 20th Century "existentialism" -- and in some ways a proto-feminist meditation, "The Brothers Karamazov" challenges the reader, in the most intelligent ways. The novel could be a 21st Century soap opera that could stretch for years (decades perhaps) just based on the panoply of characters presented to the reader. But if a novel is also to be judged based on the fulfillment of its "minor" characters, then here, too, Dostoevsky has triumphed. Despite the fact that none of the female characters is one of the leading characters, a half dozen of the women in the novel could easily be featured in a long-running HBO series. I can almost picture the reviews five years hence, when a bunch of "bingers" compare "The Brothers Karamazov" to "Breaking Bad," "The Sopranos," or the immortal "The Wire" (which I have compared to the great Russian novels). A 21st Century genre could perhaps revive this masterpiece of the 19th. Dostoevsky still holds second place in my heart to the great novels of Tolstory (I taught "Anna Karenina" to Chicago high school students for several years, always with great satisfaction to both the students and myself; and I always wished I could teach "War and Peace" -- but there just wasn't time). And I don't know if we are up to the challenge of going through "Crime and Punishment," "The Idiot," and "The Possessed" as closely as we did "The Brothers Karamazov" as the cold weather began here in Chicago. But the effort was well worth it. (Even though I had to read a Carl Haisson novel in the middle of the long march through Dostoevsky to take a breather). And you have to wonder how Dostoevsky would have written that sequel to the story of the Karamazovs, the one he was outlining after the publication of the story of Alexi, Dimitri, and Ivan. But he died, as to all great artists, and we don't have to worry, I hope, about someone taking up the next generation of the works of one of the world's great novelists the way some lesser novelists, from Ian Fleming to Margaret Mitchell, have been... Review: The Question of Life - I first read The Brothers Karamazov in college over twenty years ago. Since then I have read it perhaps five or six times and have never wanted it to end. Reading it over the years has been a unique experience in itself as with each read I see myself identifying with a different brother. In college (I was in the seminary at the time) I identified strongly with Alyosha. I later became rather skeptical and saw a lot of Ivan expressing itself in my thoughts. Then I experienced a period of great personal moral failure and came to be good friends with Dmitri. Although, as the narrator himself says, Alyosha is the hero of the story, it is Dmitri I love the most. Having associated so much with these characters I only pray to God that I never encounter within myself the demonic Fyodor. Dmitri is a sinner yes, but he is driven by an immature, undirected love (Eros seeking Agape as Pope Benedict XVI would say - Deus Caritas Est). Fyodor on the other hand is Eros incarnate with no reference to or belief in Agape. He is lost. Alyosha is Agape seeking to express itself through Eros. And so as the story unfolds Dmitri and Alyosha are drawn to discover themselves in each other. This is why for Dostoevsky Alyosha rather than Dmitri is the hero. Alyosha is a Christ figure - Agape coming down from on high into the world of Eros and liberating Eros from bondage to itself so that its affections can be true. The two "fathers" in the story, Fyodor Karamazov and Father Zosima, are the characters Dmitri and Alyosha in the absolute. They are the antithesis of each other - the flesh and the spirit. In Dmitri and Alyosha they find a resolution and form the true man who is Christ, the God-Man. So much for the meaning of the story. The story itself is just as great as its meaning. As much as I loathe Fyodor, he is undoubtedly one of the most excellent characters I have encountered in literature. He he he! Yes, and the intricacies of the plot and not a single word being lost or unaccounted for. The smallest detail is of the most significance! I firmly believe a work such as this is greater and involves more genius than any work of science. It is certainly more beautiful and a lot more fun! I cannot understand those who complain of the book's length. Its length is perfect. Dostoevsky's prejudices are perfect. His mistakes are perfect! I know there are many great works of literature I have never come across because now and then I do encounter another. At times I wonder if there is one that will move me more deeply than The Brothers Karamazov. No doubt I'll die wondering. ## Features - Used Book in Good Condition ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #154,643 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,993 in Psychological Fiction (Books) #3,535 in Classic Literature & Fiction #8,611 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,267 Reviews | ## Images ![The Brothers Karamazov: Introduction by Malcolm Jones - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71agR0zF7mL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Binging with Dostoevsky's 'Breaking Bad.' The Brothers Karamazov just the right challenging read for a long winter's months *by G***T on January 9, 2015* More than 50 years after I first read 'The Brothers Karamzov' while in high school (my existential phase, which became more than a phase), I re-read it as a part of our successful "read the classics" program with my wife in December 2014. And the novel, read through a second time (and possibly more closely than the first time) "holds up" amazingly -- although it stands in stark contrast to much of what is around nowadays in both form and content. After all, a novel where some paragraphs are three or four pages long is not about to get to the top of today's Best Seller lists. But it's worth the time and effort Dostoevsky demands. His characters are complex and provide some insights into the worlds of pre-Revolutionary Russia that would be lost to history had Dostoevsky not taken on this massive "psychological" novel. The challenges faced by the three Karamatzov brothers (and their half brother) may seem unusual today. After all, nearly 150 years of modernity have passed since the patrimony in the family Karamazov caused the three brothers -- Alexi, Ivan, and Dimitri -- to face the various insults and injuries put upon them by their monstrous father. And as close readers realize, it is the fourth brother who has the most to be angry about, because he was the product of the rape of a girl from the town by the elder Karamazov. A crime novel, a "psychological" novel, and series of meditations that helped give rise to 20th Century "existentialism" -- and in some ways a proto-feminist meditation, "The Brothers Karamazov" challenges the reader, in the most intelligent ways. The novel could be a 21st Century soap opera that could stretch for years (decades perhaps) just based on the panoply of characters presented to the reader. But if a novel is also to be judged based on the fulfillment of its "minor" characters, then here, too, Dostoevsky has triumphed. Despite the fact that none of the female characters is one of the leading characters, a half dozen of the women in the novel could easily be featured in a long-running HBO series. I can almost picture the reviews five years hence, when a bunch of "bingers" compare "The Brothers Karamazov" to "Breaking Bad," "The Sopranos," or the immortal "The Wire" (which I have compared to the great Russian novels). A 21st Century genre could perhaps revive this masterpiece of the 19th. Dostoevsky still holds second place in my heart to the great novels of Tolstory (I taught "Anna Karenina" to Chicago high school students for several years, always with great satisfaction to both the students and myself; and I always wished I could teach "War and Peace" -- but there just wasn't time). And I don't know if we are up to the challenge of going through "Crime and Punishment," "The Idiot," and "The Possessed" as closely as we did "The Brothers Karamazov" as the cold weather began here in Chicago. But the effort was well worth it. (Even though I had to read a Carl Haisson novel in the middle of the long march through Dostoevsky to take a breather). And you have to wonder how Dostoevsky would have written that sequel to the story of the Karamazovs, the one he was outlining after the publication of the story of Alexi, Dimitri, and Ivan. But he died, as to all great artists, and we don't have to worry, I hope, about someone taking up the next generation of the works of one of the world's great novelists the way some lesser novelists, from Ian Fleming to Margaret Mitchell, have been... ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Question of Life *by M***E on March 23, 2006* I first read The Brothers Karamazov in college over twenty years ago. Since then I have read it perhaps five or six times and have never wanted it to end. Reading it over the years has been a unique experience in itself as with each read I see myself identifying with a different brother. In college (I was in the seminary at the time) I identified strongly with Alyosha. I later became rather skeptical and saw a lot of Ivan expressing itself in my thoughts. Then I experienced a period of great personal moral failure and came to be good friends with Dmitri. Although, as the narrator himself says, Alyosha is the hero of the story, it is Dmitri I love the most. Having associated so much with these characters I only pray to God that I never encounter within myself the demonic Fyodor. Dmitri is a sinner yes, but he is driven by an immature, undirected love (Eros seeking Agape as Pope Benedict XVI would say - Deus Caritas Est). Fyodor on the other hand is Eros incarnate with no reference to or belief in Agape. He is lost. Alyosha is Agape seeking to express itself through Eros. And so as the story unfolds Dmitri and Alyosha are drawn to discover themselves in each other. This is why for Dostoevsky Alyosha rather than Dmitri is the hero. Alyosha is a Christ figure - Agape coming down from on high into the world of Eros and liberating Eros from bondage to itself so that its affections can be true. The two "fathers" in the story, Fyodor Karamazov and Father Zosima, are the characters Dmitri and Alyosha in the absolute. They are the antithesis of each other - the flesh and the spirit. In Dmitri and Alyosha they find a resolution and form the true man who is Christ, the God-Man. So much for the meaning of the story. The story itself is just as great as its meaning. As much as I loathe Fyodor, he is undoubtedly one of the most excellent characters I have encountered in literature. He he he! Yes, and the intricacies of the plot and not a single word being lost or unaccounted for. The smallest detail is of the most significance! I firmly believe a work such as this is greater and involves more genius than any work of science. It is certainly more beautiful and a lot more fun! I cannot understand those who complain of the book's length. Its length is perfect. Dostoevsky's prejudices are perfect. His mistakes are perfect! I know there are many great works of literature I have never come across because now and then I do encounter another. At times I wonder if there is one that will move me more deeply than The Brothers Karamazov. No doubt I'll die wondering. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My Favorite Book from my Favorite Publisher *by R***Y on February 10, 2011* First things first. I love the Everyman's Library. The light yellow pages. The cloth cover. The sewn binding (no glue). The silk bookmark. The smell. Yes, the smell of the paper is the most important part. The first thing I always do with an Everyman edition when I've opened up the box is stick my nose deep into an open page and inhale. Then I chase my wife around, telling her she has to breath this in, this fantastic aroma; she looks at me like I'm crazy. No other publisher makes books that smell like the Everyman's Library. I could never read this book on a Kindle or on paperback. It just wouldn't feel true. Beautiful thoughts deserve a beautiful home. When my college mentor held up a worn copy of The Brothers Karamozov by Dostoevsky, he promised me that this book would either transform me into a deeply religious individual or turn me into an atheist. I was intrigued. In my first reading I sensed something happening to me; I was drawn along a funny, strange fantasy which washed over me without my wholly understanding what was going on. The characters spoke in long speeches, almost Shakespearean. Alyosha, the novice monk and hero, races from scene to scene, saving his brothers and his father from catastrophe, but he's never quite fast enough. What begins in the humorously absurd turns dark and even grotesque as the father is discovered beaten to death and the eldest son, Dimitri, is immediately suspected as the culprit. Both father and son were in pursuit of the same women, and their rivalry had escalated into violence before. The most important part of the book for me, though, is the interchange between Ivan, the atheist intellectual and Alyosha, the faithful Christian. Ivan rebels against God and the senseless suffering in the world, especially the chapter entitled "The Grand Inquisitor," and Alyosha listens in horror, unable to defend his point of view. Jesus failed mankind, Ivan says, because the common man is incapable of faith. He needs to be compelled to salvation, but Jesus wouldn't compel us, so salvation is only available to a few. When the Grand Inquisitor, the man responsible for burning the thousands of heretics in Spain, confronts Jesus with his failings, Jesus only looks on him with silent compassion. It's a powerful scene, and I read the rest of the novel as Alyosha's attempt to grapple with the vision of his brother. This is not the faint hearted; it's mammoth length, difficult language, and unfamiliar Slavic names demand careful attention. But the honest, diligent reader will feel the ground shift under him, and nothing will be the same. This book changed me. I am now on my fifth reading and have lost my innocent faith in God's love, and developed a deeper, more nuanced and profound relationship with the Divine. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Brothers Karamazov: Introduction by Malcolm Jones (Everyman's Library) - Crime and Punishment (Everyman's Library) - Notes from Underground (Everyman's Library) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/5791845-the-brothers-karamazov-introduction-by-malcolm-jones](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/5791845-the-brothers-karamazov-introduction-by-malcolm-jones) --- *Product available on Desertcart South Africa* *Store origin: ZA* *Last updated: 2026-07-05*