The Karamazov Brothers

In recent years it has been impossible to read Dostoevsky in English without having the translations of Richard Pevear and Lara Volkhonsy thrust under your nose by eager and well meaning fools. For some unknown reason this husband and wife duo have become the literary press' darlings, with their work being cited as the "definitive" editions in English. This is a shame, because their translations are shockingly bad. Take a little stroll around the internet and you will find example after example of shoddy compromises, and just downright brazen mistranslation, flagrant enough for even non-russophones like you and me to spot. Ignat Avsey translated four of Dostoevsky's works before passing away. Reading them can only lead us to lament that he did not have more time to tackle the rest of the oeuvre. This translation, possibly his best, is sublime. This is the definitive edition of Dostoevsky's greatest novel. Richard and Lara live on, trampling through the rest of the golden age of Russian literature taking no prisoners. There's just no justice in this world.

Interessante

Muy buena calidad, gran editorial.

The book is smaller than I expected, but I love it anyway! It's a classic

I came to this after trying to read the much vaunted Pevear and Volokhonsky translation. Like others I found it heavy going and plodding and eventually had to put the book down. I did a search regarding opinions on other translations and this one seemed to get a lot of praise. It is deserved. The book flows in a way that the former does not and the characters jump out of the page at you. This translation is a page turner and I got through half the book in just a couple of days. Avesey as far as I can tell was a Russian native speaker brought up in England and so totally at ease with both languages. His notes and introduction are also detailed and informative. If you have always wanted to read this book but been put off by other translations give this one a go. I definitely think it will suck you in.