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The Brothers Karamazov is a novel about the family of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his sons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Summary of the Book Old man Karamazov is considered to be a despicable man. His sons definitely harbour no affections for the man, and neither does society on the whole. He sired three sons through two marriages and his servant is rumoured to be a bastard child. Dmitri, his eldest son, is a sensualist. He loves wine and women and spends much of his time hankering after the two. He only comes to his family for his inheritance, which he believes his father is keeping from him. Ivan, the second son, is a rationalist who can't stand the senseless suffering in the world. Insufferably intelligent, he is sullen and isolated. Alexei, or Alyosha as he is called, is the third son, and the youngest of the Karamazov brothers. An immensely likeable young man, he is a novice in the local Russian Orthodox monastery and is a sharp contrast to the rest of his family. The novel examines the relationship between the brothers and explores the themes of patricide when the father is eventually murdered. An influential book, it concerns the theories of the ethical debates of God, free will, and morality. About Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer, and philosopher. He is best remembered for Crime and Punishment, and The Idiot. Dostoyevsky's works explore the themes of human psychology in the context of the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmosphere of 19th-century Russia and he has influenced generations of writers both in his homeland and abroad.