Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky is the greatest book ever written | Jordan Peterson and Lex Fridman

Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:

GUEST BIO:
Jordan Peterson is a psychologist, lecturer, podcast host, and author.

PODCAST INFO:

SOCIAL:

[xkben]

“It’s an act of faith to declare that the world is good because the evidence is ambivalent.” I loved how he worded that, and it’s so true.

[rctankgo]

This is another level of conversation.
Personally, I remember when I lived in St. Petersburg and read Crime and Punishment, visiting the places mentioned in the book. That was a different kind of experience. Dostoevsky could be the writer who reached the deeper meaning of humanity more than any other writer in the history of literature.

[TamadorStoneskin]

If someone asked me to create a reading plan of the very best of the great Russian authors it would look something like this.
1. The Captain’s Daughter by Alexander Pushkin
2. A Hero of Our Time by Mikhael Lermontov
3. Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
4. A collection of Anton Chekhov’s short stories (it doesn’t really matter which one specifically, just read 5-7 of his short stories)
5. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (make sure to get the unabridged version)
6. The Heart of a Dog by Mikhael Bulgakov (despite the title this is a very clever comedy and a lot of fun)
7. A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch or Cancer Ward both by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
8. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (this is not an easy or a fast read but is one of relatively few Russian books where almost everyone lives happily ever after. Penguin also recently released a new translation that’s a lot more readable then the traditional one I strongly recommend it.)
9. Leaves From a Russian Diary by Pitirim Sorokin. If you can’t find a copy (which is highly likely) then you can substitute Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
10. The Brothers Karamazov by Fydor Dostoevsky (it’s simply superb)
All these books need to be read in a particular way. You can’t just cruise through them all in a rush. They have to be read thoughtfully and then applied to your life and society, if you are willing to read them like that, they will be deeply rewarding to you.
Feel free to blast me in the comments for not including such geniuses as Gogol and Akhmatova, or my choice of books for particular authors.

[Afdog]

One of the most amazing things about Crime and Punishment is that it was basically written just for money. Dostoyevsky was in debt and in addition lost a big amount of money playing cards, so he needed money really fast so he started work on it
But failed to meet the deadline and wrote a "Player"
But still needed to finish the book so he finished it in around a year. And it was second version because first version was put to fire by Dostoyevsky (it was pretty trendy among russian writers at the time lol)

[jackwalker]

I was told by a Russian person that The Brothers Karamazov should be read at least 3 times. I have read it twice and it is my favorite novel ever. Right behind it are War and Peace, and Crime and Punishment. I know there are many great novels from many great novelists, but to me Dostoevsky is the best novelist ever. His understanding of human psychology was uncanny.

[ziggyzigggfreed]

"Neitzsche was like a character in a Dostoievsky novel." I totally agree. That's quite an insight! Thanks.

[Mittke]

One of the best books. For me personally, The Master and Margarita is the best book ever written. Most of the Russian/Soviet classical writers are in the league of their own, nobody comes even close to their mastery.

[FenyxBlaiseAsche]

Look at your family dynamics and you'll all see the Karamazov's. It's a psychological study on people and how morality drives them to interact with eachother. Epic novel and always relevant

[miljenkogambiraza]

"He ruined literature for me" - couldn't said it any better. Nothing I've read after Dostoevsky has come close to that level. Brothers Karamazov is the best novel ever written. No contest.

[MrKage-fbwy]

The Brothers Karamazov is Dostoevsky’s best because you can literally find everything that he had written about beforehand within this one novel. All the problems identified in Notes From Underground, the nihilism Raskolnikov dealt with in Crime and Punishment, the Holy Fool of The Idiot, the consequences of Demons, and much more is all here. The craziest part is that The Brothers Karamazov was only part one of a much larger journey, but he died before he could work on it. Now is The Brothers Karamazov the best book? Well it’s definitely the best at exploring human nature. I’ve heard of other candidates such as Dante’s Divine Comedy, Augustine’s Confessions, Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, Cervantes’ Don Quixote (one of Dostoevsky’s personal favorites), Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (which Dostoevsky described as a perfect work of art), Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago, and more. I still need to get through these, but they are good food for thought.

Edit: never thought I’d start a war in the comments.

[buxtehude]

Master and Margarita... the only book that made me cry. When Pontius Pilate walks the moonpath with his dog... gets me every time. I read it in Russian but even in English it's devastating. And the Satan's Ball -- amazing. I rank it higher than Crime& Punishment, which has that claustrophobic fin de siècle vibe.

[Cletus_the_Elder]

I wish I had the brilliance to read Brothers Karamazov for all of its many insights about life, faith, and our engagement in the world. I had help, with learned professors in college who included this book in the syllabus. I was amazed by the insights. Dostoevsky was given inspiration and he honed his craft around it.

[eps]

The only that amazes me more than how much Jordan Peterson can speak like and athlete can run, is just how many books he has read which he can instantly reference into any conversation. Lex is equally as amazing how he's so well versed with every guest on his show considering every guest is typically in the top of their field.

[matthewz]

If Lex continued to wear the Pulp Fiction suit but grew his hair out Vincent Vega style, I would hire him to commit crimes and be more confident in him to get it done right than I would be in John Travolta, just in case Tarantino cares about my casting opinions.

[Charlie-qelv]

I read Dostoevsky in a Russian Literature class in college taught by a Russian professor. The Grand Inquisitor is one of the best sections in all of literature. One thing I remember from the class is that the names in Brothers Karamazov had meaning in Russian.

[akashvankessel]

Wow. This conversation made me stop for a moment. Took me out of my superficial, reactive mode I was in. It really moved me. Still feel moved when writing this....and made me decide to go and read this book. Thank you!

[chrisculver]

War and Peace is the greatest novel I've read and re-read every five years. Brothers K is my second favorite novel. Brothers K is more incisive in its areas of concern, but War and Peace is broader, and it helps that there is so much more of it and it covers a larger time span allowing for extended character development. Interesting detail: Tolstoy died with Brothers Karamazov on his nightstand.

[craig]

The Brothers Karamazov is my favorite, and I think it's certainly a candidate for the best book ever written. It woke me up more than any other book I've ever read.

[calebmoffett]

JP reminded me of a poem when he was speaking at the end.
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy,
I woke and saw that life was duty,
I acted, and behold, duty was joy”

[greyngreyer]

As a Yugoslav, it's always been interesting to me to note how much of an effect Russian (something I consider myself a part of) literature has had on the world. To everyone fascinated by it, if you're struggling to find anything that comes close, I urge you to look to Yugoslavia.