There were many times I was absolutely frustrated by this book. Twice I put it down and went away for a week, read something else and came back. However, each time I did come back. That is the beauty of this book. 
 When I was making notes about Brothers Karamazov I wrote in big bold letter above the page "What even is this book". I wrote this after reading what is arguably the greatest chapter in the book, apart from another towards the end - The Grand Inquisitor. Up until this point I found the book an easy read, but I didn't get the hype. The Grand Inquisitor turns that on its head. What a chapter this is. It is available as a standalone, and even if you don't pick up this book, you should read it. 
 Many argue Brothers Karamazov is a book about Dostoevsky finding religion: personally I didn't feel that way. Yes, there are religious characters, and there is a rising tide of atheism but the point I felt was about these characters themselves. Brothers Karamazov is a treatise on psychology more than anything else. The characters presented in the book, each and every one of them, are so vivid you will be amazed. Let me touch upon a few. 
 Mitya, the character on whom rests the burden of moving the plot along is a pride driven egomaniac. He is reckless and says before thinking, it is his mouth that gets him into trouble. He is impulsive and madly in love with Grushenka. Ivan is a tormented intellectual, one whose philosophical tendencies are slowly driving him insane. Ivan is plagued by thoughts of God and hatred for institutions, for some reason I was able to relate most with his journey. Alyosha is the idealist, whose character is driven by his need to help others. He moves about much of the book putting out fires others create (mostly his brothers) and is pained inconsolable by the death of his mentor Elder Zossima. Fyodor Pavlovich, the father Karamazov, is an atheist himself and despite him featuring sparsely in the book would need another post to go in length about. Smerdyakov, the illegitimate son, is a different sort of intellectual who is put down because of his position in society and the misfortunes of birth. Smerdyakov is cunning and the perfect embodiment of his intelligence is his manipulative ability. Grushenka is the final character that stands out for me, a girl with a dark past who is bent on destroying the lives of Mitya's family. She is a fascinating character study of a revenge driven soul. 
 You can read Brothers Karamazov on many levels. On one level is a simple story of parricide. It's a whodunit taken to an incredible extreme. Reading a 900+ page book to find out who killed someone is a bit impractical in my opinion though. On the other level is a manual on humanity. It covers most major challenges we face as humans. It touches upon our pleasures, our frustrations, our guilt, our sacrificial nature, our sheer intelligence and our sheer stupidity. The characters in the book are so layered, you will be amazed. If you care to look for it, even those that are mentioned in passing are given strict attention. Dostoevsky is a true master of his craft. 
 It was 983 pages, it cost me my sanity at times. I spent days complaining about how the book refused to move on from trivial matters and then raved for days about the pure genius in entire sequences. It's an incredible achievement by every standard.