Crime and Punishment (Vintage Classics) [Paperback]

Fyodor Dostoevsky (Author), Richard Pevear (Translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator)

Book Description

Release date: March 2, 1993 | Series: Vintage Classics

With the same suppleness, energy, and range of voices that won their translation of The Brothers Karamazov the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Prize, Pevear and Volokhonsky offer a brilliant translation of Dostoevsky's classic novel that presents a clear insight into this astounding psychological thriller. "The best (translation) currently available"--Washington Post Book World.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Mired in poverty, the student Raskolnikov nevertheless thinks well of himself. Of his pawnbroker he takes a different view, and in deciding to do away with her he sets in motion his own tragic downfall. Dostoyevsky's penetrating novel of an intellectual whose moral compass goes haywire, and the detective who hunts him down for his terrible crime, is a stunning psychological portrait, a thriller and a profound meditation on guilt and retribution. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

An acclaimed new translation of the classic Russian novel.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 565 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; First Edition edition (March 2, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679734503
• ISBN-13: 978-0679734505
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.2 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (125 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 101 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful new translation April 24, 2001

By Amy L.

Format:Paperback

Crime and Punishment centers upon the story of a young Russian student, Raskolnikov, who plots and carries out a brutal murder. However, this is less than a quarter of the story. The rest centers upon his attempts to come to terms with the philosophical and psycological consequences of his act. Aiding, or hindering, him in this endevor are a series of characters from the kind-hearted prostitute Sonia and her drunken father, the unrepentant scoundrel Svidrigailov, Raskolnikov's best friend Razumihin, and the police detective come amateur psychologist Porfiry Petrovich. Though the story develops slowly, with many detours, Raskolnikov's journey through crime and punishment remains gripping until the very last page.

I first encountered Crime and Punishment in the classic translation by Constance Garnett and loved it for Dostoyevsky's careful balance of character and philosophy. Dostoyevsky's genius lies in his ability to create simultaneously a psychological novel and a novel of ideas. Though each character represents a certain philosophy of life, they never become lifeless or stereotyped. Instead, each is a memorably developed and psychologically deep person, who could easily carry a story in their own right. Dostoyevsky's genius is in the perfect counterpoint between conflict of personality and conflict of philosophy between each of these fascinating people. Dostoyevsky also specializes in garnering the reader's interest and sympathy for the most unlikely characters. This is a novel, after all, with an ax murderer as the protagonist.

However, until I read this new translation of Dostoyevsky, I never realized that besides psychologist and philosopher, Dostoyevsky was also a masterful stylist. Pevear and Volokhonsky succeed in faithfully translating the literal meaning of the original Russian, while still capturing the vivid liveliness of Dostoyevsky's prose. The heat of a St. Petersburg summer night fairly radiates off the page in the first part, while his descriptions of Raskolnikov's cramped bedroom gave me claustrophobia.

Admittedly, this is no beach-read thriller. The Russian names can be confusing, and Dostoyevsky's manages to be both dense and long-winded. Nontheless, this is one of the greatest works of fiction ever written that should be read both as a "classic book" and as a gripping psychological exploration of crime.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Crime and Punishment, Sin and Redemption February 12, 2001

By B. Morse

Format:Hardcover

Many of the 'classic novels' I have read were originally written in English, and therefore forego translation in modern bindings. Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, although written in the latter half of the 19th century, holds up well to the conversion from the original Russian to English.

Rodion Raskolikov is a student, an author, an intellectual. Like countless others in Russia at the time, he is also very poor. His empassioned mind imagines that a local woman, a pawnbroker is evil, a parasite, for taking the valued trinkets of her neighbors and paying them a pittance in return, and for holding promisary notes over their heads. His rage turns to murder, justifying his actions later on as doing a greater good for many by taking the life of this one person. However, his crime is two-fold, as he is discovered by the woman's sister, still with the murder weapon in his hands, and in a moment of terrified frenzy, murders her as well.

The bulk of this novel, exquisitly written, is the slow realization of Raskolnikov that his crime was just that, a crime, no matter how good his intent. Raskolnikov struggles with the guilt of his actions, even as he time and again proves his worthiness as a person in his actions regarding others, giving up his last bit of money to help another less fortunate than himself, attending to a dying man in the streets, trying to secure a good future for his sister, with a worthy man. Raskolnikov, as the reader discovers, is a good and decent man.

The underlying message of this book seems to be that even a man of conscience cannot commit an unconscienable act without repurcussion, without 'punishment', and that no matter how justified you think you may be in your actions, no matter how many good deeds you may do, with conscience there is always a higher authority to answer to, that of your own mind, and what you can or cannot live with.

Dostoevsky had been described to me as dry, turgid reading. I found it to be nothing of the sort. The story never drags on or belabours a point without logic and qualification. The characters, although the focus of the story is Raskolnikov, are all well realized, and developed.

The story itself remains interesting and engaging throughout every page, with a well crafted conundrum once you reach the epilogue, and leaves the reader, at least this one, with a desire to read more about this man, beyond the final words of the book.

70 of 85 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A very poor translation February 9, 2007

By Lazyboy

Format:Hardcover

I read this novel 15 years ago, and loved it. It was one of my favorites. But when I was reading the Larissa Volokhonsky, Richard Pevear translation I found myself losing interest in the book quickly. So I compared a few translations, switched to the David McDuff translation and really began to enjoy the book again.
I think that Volokhonsky and Pevear don't write English very well. Frankly, there are frequent times when their translations make no sense at all. There was a big marketing effort behind the publications of their translations, and I bought into it. I liked the blurbs on the back covers, and tried reading some of their russian translations. But once I got into the habit of comparing translations, I saw that McDuff, Jessie Coulson, and others write much more readable translations.
These books aren't easy to get through, and I would hate to see someone discouraged by a poor translation. I recommend comparing one paragraph in two translations if you can. You'll notice the difference, and be able to pick out the translation that's right for you.