Registrar Brian Mahoney
Great Books Council of San Francisco
gbbrianmahoney@gmail.com
Caroline Van Howe, Coordinator, can be reached at 415-453-1014.
This year we will discuss The Brothers Karamazov
By Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karamazov is regarded among the greatest literary works of all time. Vonnegut, in Slaughterhouse Five, wrote that “...there is one other book, that can teach you everything you need to know about life. It’s The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky.” Einstein considered The Brothers Karamazov to be “the supreme summit of all literature” and said that he had learned more from Dostoevsky than any other thinker. The book was also hugely inspirational to a number of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century, including Freud, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, and Camus, the last of whom declared that Dostoevsky, not Marx, was the great prophet for the 20th century.
It is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sonsthe impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red- cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, its social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture.
About the Author: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist and philosopher. Dostoevsky's literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century
Dr. Ruttenburg is the William Robertson Coe Professor of American Literature at Stanford and holds courtesy appointments in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. She received her PhD in Comparative Literature from Stanford and taught at Harvard, Berkeley, and NYU. Her research interests lie at the intersection of political, religious, and literary expression in colonial through antebellum America and nineteenth-century Russia. Prof. Ruttenburg is the author of Dostoevsky's Democracy (Princeton UP, 2008) and is currently working on a comparative piece entitled Dostoevsky And.
We will use the Farrar, Straus and Giroux paperback with award-winning translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky (1st edition) published June 14, 2002. This translation was the Winner of Pen/Book- of-the-Month Club Translation Prize. ISBN-10: 0-374-52837-3, ISBN-13: 978-0-374-52837-9 Please purchase only this edition from your bookseller. (The book is available in new and used versions on Amazon.com.)
The Location: The Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park is located on a ten-acre site that was originally the home of E.W. Hopkins, the nephew of Mark Hopkins. The Hopkins home, known as the Old Mansion, was built during the Civil War period. Originally a simple wooden structure, it was later expanded and decorated with its distinctive Italianate touches. The center includes meeting rooms, a dining room, accommodation and ample free parking. Participants will be housed in single or double rooms with en-suite bathroom. Delicious meals with local produce, including vegetarian and gluten-free options, are included in the registration fee.
Please note: The Vallombrosa Center is not ADA-compliant. For details on accessibility, please contact Jaynie Fedele at: jaynie@vallombrosa.org.
The Weekend: Please arrive about 9:15 a.m. on Saturday. There will be three discussion periods, four fine meals, a wine and cheese reception and the showing of the 1958 movie version directed by Academy Award-winning Richard Brooks, and starring Yul Brynner, Lee J. Cobb, Claire Bloom, Maria Schell, Albert Salmi and William Shatner. The program will conclude after lunch on Sunday. Maria Schell and Yul Brynner
Weekend Costs Per Person:
For further information: Contact Event Coordinator Caroline Van Howe at carolinevanhowe@comcast.net or 415.453.1014.
For a printable registration form for registering by postal mail CLICK HERE.
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