Supreme masterpiece recounts in feverish, compelling tones the story of Raskolnikov, an impoverished student tormented by his own thoughts after he brutally murders an old woman. Overwhelmed afterwards by guilt and terror, Raskolnikov confesses and goes to prison. There he realizes that happiness and redemption can only be achieved through suffering. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
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Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian
Original Language: Russian
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Truly one of the greatest stories ever told, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment is a testament to the flaws of human nature. Crime and Punishment follows one of the most accurately human characters I have ever read of, Rodion Raskolnikov, through his trials and tribulations after committing a murder. Nearly everything about this novel is intriguing and the book has very few flaws.
Rodion Raskolnikov is a character I can absolutely relate to. His character is so natural, so real, more so than characters in the books I read. Raskolnikov commits his murder in hopes of becoming something greater, which is a flaw that he may never overcome. His reasoning in the murder is flawed and his hopes for the future are flawed as well. In his desire to become a more powerful human, such as his hero Napoleon, he damns himself to the wretched wasteland of Siberia. He never repents for killing the old woman, who is agreeably a shady character. Raskolnikov does fear he went to far in killing the kindly, yet gullible, Lizeveta, whom he never meant to attack. The emotions described in the story by all of the characters, but especially Raskolnikov, are all feelings I myself have felt. His desire for forgiveness, understanding, vindication, and power are genuine human emotions. His desire to share his pain with another, while at the same time trying to not cause anyone close to him pain, causes him to fall deeper into insanity and sickness. In the end, Raskolnikov realizes that he could never be a Napoleon, but a rather ordinary man.
The only fault of this book, in my eyes, is the long-winded thought processes of the characters. Perhaps it is only the translation, but the book goes into the deepest details in explaining the most trivial actions. It is not boring, per say, but it does make the book move much more slowly. Also, possibly again due to the translation, people seem to stare at each other for quite a while. I do not profess to have a great knowledge of nineteenth century Russia, but I find it hard to believe people would just stare at each other for four, five, and ten minutes at a time without speaking, then go on as if it never happened.
The psychology in this book is also very captivating. The paranoia experienced by Raskolnikov at the hands of Porfiry Petrovich, Razumihin knowing his friend so well, yet never realizing the truth until much later on in the book, Svidrigailov's apparent monomania over Avdotya Raskolnikov, and the unexpected psychological attack on Zametov by Raskolnikov are only a few of the great instances where thought, rather than action, tell the story.
Crime and Punishment, overall, is one of the best literary classics I have ever read. The characters are some of the easiest to relate to and the experiences they are forced to encounter force the reader to reflect on human nature and the flaws therein.
Rodion Raskolnikov is a character I can absolutely relate to. His character is so natural, so real, more so than characters in the books I read. Raskolnikov commits his murder in hopes of becoming something greater, which is a flaw that he may never overcome. His reasoning in the murder is flawed and his hopes for the future are flawed as well. In his desire to become a more powerful human, such as his hero Napoleon, he damns himself to the wretched wasteland of Siberia. He never repents for killing the old woman, who is agreeably a shady character. Raskolnikov does fear he went to far in killing the kindly, yet gullible, Lizeveta, whom he never meant to attack. The emotions described in the story by all of the characters, but especially Raskolnikov, are all feelings I myself have felt. His desire for forgiveness, understanding, vindication, and power are genuine human emotions. His desire to share his pain with another, while at the same time trying to not cause anyone close to him pain, causes him to fall deeper into insanity and sickness. In the end, Raskolnikov realizes that he could never be a Napoleon, but a rather ordinary man.
The only fault of this book, in my eyes, is the long-winded thought processes of the characters. Perhaps it is only the translation, but the book goes into the deepest details in explaining the most trivial actions. It is not boring, per say, but it does make the book move much more slowly. Also, possibly again due to the translation, people seem to stare at each other for quite a while. I do not profess to have a great knowledge of nineteenth century Russia, but I find it hard to believe people would just stare at each other for four, five, and ten minutes at a time without speaking, then go on as if it never happened.
The psychology in this book is also very captivating. The paranoia experienced by Raskolnikov at the hands of Porfiry Petrovich, Razumihin knowing his friend so well, yet never realizing the truth until much later on in the book, Svidrigailov's apparent monomania over Avdotya Raskolnikov, and the unexpected psychological attack on Zametov by Raskolnikov are only a few of the great instances where thought, rather than action, tell the story.
Crime and Punishment, overall, is one of the best literary classics I have ever read. The characters are some of the easiest to relate to and the experiences they are forced to encounter force the reader to reflect on human nature and the flaws therein.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Crime and Punishment", published in 1866, is one of those books that one reads many times in his/her lifetime and which impregnates your spirit and soul with the self-imprecatory and dense prose of a deranged and disillusioned man, its author being the greatest of the Russian prose writers, Fiodor Dostoievski (1821-1881).This is my second time reading and I am sure I will get back to it eventually many times still.
Despite the deep density of all its characters, all of them unabashedly portraying and surrendering themselves to the reader's judgement, sometimes even anticipating them, in the most clear-cut and realistic way - but at the same time seemingly disdaining the pity that one should visit upon them - this is one of those very few books you read with the weird sensation that you are the author, not Dostoievski, something that can only be ascribed to the profoundly realistic knowledge of the human dramas that surround human condition at its worst, in this case, the poor inhabitants of czarist Saint Petersburgo of the XIX century. Also, besides being essentially Russian and universal at the same time, it is auto-biographical at its core, where the protagonist Raskolnikov is easily identified with the man Dostoievsky not only for the Oedipus complex open ajar to the reader discretion.
In my opinion, this is one of the 10 best prose books of the Occidental Classical Literature ever written and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Liza Kirk
Format:Paperback
After reading a number of the new and celebrated Russian translators, I came back to this old version of Crime and Punishment and realized what I had been missing. The newer translators may be technically more accurate. And from time to time the may seem more colloquial. But they never capture the verve and the passion that epitomizes the great Russians. This novel especially flourishes under the hand of Garnett, who got not just the language and the culture but the essential frenzy of Dostoyevsky.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
<3
Great quality and great book! I got it super fast and it was brand new and everything. I would definitely recommend this purchase.
Published 3 days ago by isabella
3.0 out of 5 stars
My Take.
I've had my head in and out of this book for 10 days. The first day I received many jolts because parallel to the story I had my own "to be or not to be" happening so it frightened... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Harkanwar Anand
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic
If you haven't read this book already then go and read. It's facinating and very interesting. It may seem a bit difficult in the beginning, but it's still good. Read more
Published 2 months ago by dannyswafford
3.0 out of 5 stars
book reviwew
I found it to be very depressing I did finish the book but the life style was difficult to imagine
Published 2 months ago by margaret
2.0 out of 5 stars
A classic in it's own way but not my cup of tea.
This review is for the novel in itself, not the edition or translation. I've heard many fine things about Crime and Punishment so I picked it off the shelf and gave it a shot. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kurt Miller
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, would recommend
This book met all my needs for school required reading, but had a few typos and certain phrases still weren't translated into English, but no real meaning was lost.
Published 3 months ago by NH
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good buy
This was an excellent version of the book and the price was great. A good re-read and would recommend this discounted version.
Published 4 months ago by N. Crandell
1.0 out of 5 stars
Search for Norton's Critical edition instead!
I posted a one star review in hopes that it gets read.
I urge you to seek out the Norton's Critical edition of this book, ISBN: 0393956237
That edition has portions of... Read more
I urge you to seek out the Norton's Critical edition of this book, ISBN: 0393956237
That edition has portions of... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Wayne Thibodeau
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great but not perfect!
Great affordable copy of Crime and punishment. The translation is ... okay not the best not the worst. Read more
Published 5 months ago by FiftyOne
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Life Changer
No book in the history of books (that I've read) can swallow you whole like Crime and Punishment. When I was finally done reading this novel, I was a whole new person. Read more
Published 7 months ago by alexandra kakon
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