The Best Translation of The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov was written in Russian. 3 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Constance Garnett
Modern Library · 1912 · 912 pages
Fast, clean, and slightly Victorian. Garnett loses some of Dostoevsky's fever but keeps the pages turning, which counts in a 700-page novel. Every major English novelist of the early 20th century read this one.
Every recommended edition, compared
Pevear and Volokhonsky catch the voices Garnett flattens. Fyodor's buffoonery, Ivan's ice, Alyosha's softness all land differently. Trade-off is rougher prose.
Avsey reads easier than P&V and keeps more edge than Garnett. He titles it The Karamazov Brothers because that's what the Russian actually says, which tells you what kind of translator he is.
Please support us by purchasing through these links, at no extra cost to you!
Reading The Brothers Karamazov in translation
The Brothers Karamazov was written in Russian, so unless you read Russian, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.