Treasured Classics: Boris Zelkin

Scottsdale Prep Humane Letters teacher and Emmy Award-winning composer Boris Zelkin shares a few words about his favorite book, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

How did this book impact you? 

My first exposure to this book was at the age of 21. From its earliest passages about the danger of beautiful places and romance, I knew it was special. I had never before, or since, read a book that so honestly and courageously lays bare the seemingly cruel indifference of the universe to the suffering of the innocent, the depths of self-deception and dishonesty among most of us, the redemptive power of love, and the notion that rather than being creatures of reason, we are instead, flawed, sensual, emotional and devotional beings who are playing at acting reasonably.  

I was, at the time, too young and full of fire and faith in intellect to take in, and really engage with Dostoyevsky's solutions to these problems. But the unflinching and powerful way Dostoevsky shone a revelatory light on these brutal issues through such a powerful story and deeply developed and relatably flawed characters arrested and forced me to consider these questions with an uncomfortable, yet worthwhile, honesty and self-consciousness that I had never previously been accustomed to. 

Did the book change the way you see the world, or the way you show up in relationships?  

Absolutely. It helped me understand how lying, especially to oneself, is the biggest obstacle to love.

Have you, or will you, reread the book?

One of the most wonderful things about my job is that I get to read this book every year.

Which scene from the book has stuck with you the most? 

When I first read the book as a young career seminarist, the chapters that most struck me were Rebellion and Grand Inquisitor. Those scenes struck, but didn't stick. 

The scenes that stuck, however, the ones I think about often are Lady of Little Faith, Cana of Galilee, and that sublimely poignant scene where Dimitri Karamazov, on trial for his life, has a passionate outburst at court thanking a village doctor for having shown him love and charity many years ago by giving the neglected little Dimitri a bag of nuts. That scene always has me cry-smiling.

What surprised you most about the book?  

The self-awareness and consciousness that Dostoevsky allows for and expects of people. The honest and painful way in which the author lays out the problems of suffering and human evil. The simple, yet seemingly difficult to implement, ideas of active love, joy, universal responsibility, and mystery that the author seems to imply are answers to those questions regarding meaning in a world of universal suffering.

Are there lingering questions from the book you're still thinking about?  

What motivates us to do the things we do? How can a person best overcome their attachment to praise, reward, status, and accolades in order to serve others with love? How can we actively love people who seem to make it near impossible for us to love them?

Please include an impactful quote that captures something you love about the book: 

"Above all, do not lie to yourself. A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others. Not respecting anyone, he ceases to love... "

and,

"What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love."