The Brothers Karamazov & The Stranger - Book Discussion *spoilers*

Hi friends,

Today, Emma and I will be discussing The Brothers Karamazov and The Stranger as part of our Game of Tomes book club.

Please remember to respect everyone's opinions in the comments!

Peace and love,
Your hosts Carolyn and Emma :)

My Social Media: CarolynMarieReads

***About me -
I'm a freelance illustrator and writer who graduated (in May of 2021) from The Fashion Institute of Technology with my Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration with a minor in English/Writing.
My greatest passion in life is combining my three loves: illustrating, writing, and reading!

Happy Reading :)

#booktube #bookdiscussion #bookreview

[celestegobbi]

Emma's copy of The Stranger cracks me up every time. That's an amazing thumbnail!

[CherryBlossomXX]

I fully teared up when Emma said that their friendship was beautiful and one of the best things in her life. So lovely 😢❤

[sukhmanjotkaurdhaliwal]

When caroline says 'man's love for man is inherent'

I remember a line...i think it's
'More i love mankind as a whole...less i love man in general'❤ i feel it

[Ricky-esvg]

The Brothers Karamazov is my favorite book ever written, I will keep re-reading it throughout my life.

[antea]

i can just say for myself but i really enjoyed this format a lot more comparing the two books, i liked how you were able to go into a lot more depth w both and have a really interesting discussion that i fear always ends up a bit lacking for me in the liveshows. obviously it depends on how you both feel about doing this but on my end i do hope you get to film more of these discussion/podcast ig lol type videos for the book club <3

[circleofleaves_Jensha]

Smerdyakov killing the father was in a way justice for raping his mother. Yet the rape was the reason for his own existence. When Smerdyakov took his own life after killing the father, it was almost like erasing the tracks or timeline, turning the clock back, as to kill the father who by his own bad deeds forced Smerdyakov into the world, he was to remove himself from the world, as though he had never been, or wasn’t supposed to be born at all.

[circleofleaves_Jensha]

One of the most interesting overlaps between the two novels I found was during the trials, and that focus on intent vs action and how it’s almost impossible to ever be completely objective or to be perceived objectively (“objective judgment”, a requirement of any jury, is almost an oxymoron). In both novels they’re judged on their intent, their thoughts, their lives and actions and ways of relating to the world outside of the actual criminal act in question.

[kathy]

I feel this is perhaps the best discussion of two novels that I've heard from both of you and I loved it. A very profound depth to your conversation that was so interesting. Someone once said, 'we are born, we live and then we die, but it is how you live between birth and death where you find meaning'. I feel this is so true.

[lifequotient]

This is a beautiful conversation from you two. I feel I understand Emma a lot, and the Brothers put me in a similar state/crisis that she described. But I do continue to wrestle with the ideas from the novel that you both discussed.

[whiskerslibrary]

Aww, I just love your friendship ❤. I personally lean more towards Emma's mindset (in my case kinda a self-defence mechanism) but Carolyn's opinion reminds me so much my own bestie. Which is why I enjoy those discussions so much hehe.

[alorainautumn]

Oh my goodness— you two on a podcast would be fantastic! Also Emma, your copy of The Stranger feels like it has a touch of irony, given the topic of existentialism/meaning.

[BooksandRadioPlays]

Very interesting discussion, how we see the world and our part in it, is something we all have to face. Even if you ignore it, it is still right there with you. You can't escape it.

[Marcela.Isabel]

I’m loving this set up. The back and forth conversation is really interesting and somewhat intense but in a good way. I also like The Stranger to the point where I end up getting another book from Camu (A Happy Death)

[malissamoench]

Loved the podcast format!! I would religiously listen to podcasts the two of you produce!
"Men (and women) are that they might have joy!"

[covergirlbooks]

The philosophical conversations that these books brought up are so worthy of time! ❤I’m so glad you’re processing through them together — truly a friendship glue 😊

As I’m sure you know, Dostoyevsky was writing a moral tale with Christian themes, so if you want to see his inspo for the theme of meaninglessness, I’d recommend checking out the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. It’s only like 5-6 pages. It’s written by this wealthy king, Solomon, who was trying to answer the question for himself. Oh, and you don’t have to have read the rest of the Bible first, and you can read it online, so that’s nice 😅

[justiniswesleyandnotdavid]

Great discussion. Ive read The Stranger a few years ago, and it still haunts me in the best way. If your looking for more of what Camus explores in The Stranger i recommend The Myth of Sisyphus. Its an essay that goes deeper into Camus philosophy. The book acts as a companion to The Stranger. The next best book to follow it up with is The Plague. They're others that share a similar relationship with those you could explore as well. Some are Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre and She Came to Stay by Simone De Beauvoir. Happy reading.

[NjIceTea]

Great talk! Thanks for taking the time to do this! It reminded me of Emma’s book of the month character with the cuts lol

[sathejg]

A recent subscriber. Very glad I found this channel! Covers exactly the books I either loved reading would love to read. And insightful reviews! Please keep them coming.

[ShastaStitches]

Loved this! You both have interesting perspectives and I’m with you Carolyn in Lala land and I think I’m happy here 😁😅

[ba-ggjo]

Camus had a very interesting life, he was a resister during the 2WW and wrote and edited a Resistance publication "Combat" . His life story is as interesting as the books he wrote. His life was tragically cut short by a car accident when he was in his 40s. A sad loss.