“Brothers Karamazov” is the final and physically the longest novel by Dostojevskij. It is customarily considered as his chief work and by many men of letters as the best novel in the history of literature. The American, David Fischelson, has accomplished an outstandingly brilliant dramatization of the novel by leaving out a vast number of the many characters in the novel and descriptions of the Russian life in the 19th century in order to focus on the central conflicts of the novel. The play revolves around the three Karamazov brothers and the brutal murder of their monstrous father Fyodor Karamazov – an event triggering the violent activities of the story, and which changes the lives of the sons: The womanizing and gambling Dmitri, whose bitter rivalry with his father instantly makes him come under suspicion for patricide; Ivan the intellectual whose mental torment drives him to a breakdown; and the spiritual Alyosha who attempts to ease the family strife. Furthermore we are introduced to the servant Smerdyakov, whom the miserly father won’t accept as his son. Trouble arise when Dmitri falls in love with the beautiful but flighty innkeeper, Grushenka, who till now has been Fyodor’s lover. In fact, the father has proposed to Grushenka only to be rejected. Towards the end Dmitri murders his father in a jealous rage. However this is not all too unfortunate, as the subsequent trial convinces Grushenka and Dmitri that they are made for each other. In the end Dmitris’ brothers help him escape with Grushenka.
