Friday, June 13, 2014

Top eight siblings in literature

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Becky Ferreira tagged the eight best siblings in literature, including:
The Brothers Karamazov (The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky)

It’s hard to think of a set of literary siblings with more sharply drawn philosophical differences. Dmitri, the eldest, is a pleasure hound just like his old man. The middle child, Ivan, is a Spock-level logician, and the youngest, Alexei, is deeply spiritual and well-liked. Though it is never confirmed, it’s implied that sociopath Pavel is the illegitimate fourth Karamazov brother. Only Dostoevsky could write a novel with such dark themes, and somehow leave us with a sliver of hope at the end.
Read about the other entries on the list.

The Brothers Karamazov made Alexandra Silverman's list of four famous writers who spent time in jail, Paul Murray's top ten list of wicked priests in fiction, James Runcie's top ten list of books about brothers, and is one of the top ten works of literature according to Norman Mailer.

Also see: Gwyneth Rees's ten top books about siblings and Will Eaves's top ten siblings' stories.

--Marshal Zeringue