In my sophomore year of high school, I did a report on Fyodor Dostoyevsky because he seemed an intriguing subject. The next year, I was assigned Crime and Punishment in English class, and was assigned it again by a different teacher the following year. Recently, I decided the time had come to read the novel a third time. The reading of a work three times is an honor I award to very few novels, especially now that I am aware of the sheer amount of worthwhile reads in the world that I could be beginning instead. Unlike most of the works I have read at least thrice (the Harry Potter series, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Hobbit, The Jungle Book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Wind in the Willows, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Secret Garden), Crime and Punishment contains a pervasively grim atmosphere that is nonetheless spiked with comedy and is, if less *entertaining* than these favorite reads of mine, certainly quite as rewarding if not more so.
My first taste of Dostoyevsky catapulted him from an unknown author to one of my favorites, which is not an easily accomplished feat by any means. His stories, while intensely wordy and much more driven by conversations and ideas than by quick sequences of action, cannot help but captivate. He has a gift for portraying the grime and pettiness of human existence while not allowing his tone to lapse into cynicism; rather, he presents the grotesque in order to argue for the true and beautiful. The plot is simple: Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student with dangerous theories about an exceptional class of persons to whom the law need not apply, commits the crime of murder and theft and then spends the rest of the book being punished for it psychologically and eventually physically (he is not caught until the very end of the novel). It is not the plot that drives the novel, but the oppressive atmosphere of guilt, concealment, and suffering, together with the remarkable characterization Dostoyevsky provides. One feels genuine repulsion and pity mingled for the clownish, drunken Marmeladov; the overbearing, deluded Luzhin; the hysterical, diseased Katerina Ivanovna; the loathsome, depraved Svidrigaïlov, and of course the mercurial and distracted protagonist Raskolnikov. The good characters, such as Raskolnikov’s mother Pulcheria Alexandrovna, his sister Dounia, and his friend Razumihin, are all marred by their own minor flaws as well; only the ‘pure prostitute’ Sonia emerges (paradoxically) unstained. Jews, Poles, and Germans, the underclasses of St. Petersburg, also populate the tale, and various clerks, constables, and other members of society round out the picture. Certain scenes, such as Katerina Ivanovna’s miserable dinner party and Svridrigaïlov’s assault on Dounia, have stuck with me throughout the years, and the hope-garnished ending provides desperately needed catharsis. Although I believe The Brothers Karamazov to be Dostoyevsky’s finest work, and one of the finest works ever written in the history of literature, I would hold that Crime and Punishment deserves nearly as high esteem. A very firm five stars.
While my first knowledge of Dover Publications came from their excellent historical and animal-themed coloring books, I have not been disappointed in their publishing for more advanced ages. Dover Publications always chooses the “standard text” when reprinting a literary classic, and they have wisely selected the Constance Garnett translation, which I find perfectly readable and artful. I do not have any knowledge of the Russian language and thus cannot evaluate translations for accuracy, but Garnett’s is the form in which the greatest Russian literature first came to be known in the English-speaking world, and while apparently other translations have since superseded the Garnett, its historical importance cannot be overlooked. In other respects, such as typesetting, front and back covers, biographical introductory note, and especially the phenomenally low price, I am quite pleased with Dover Publications. The one potential drawback is a lack of scholarly notes, but for this particular reading experience, I would opine that they are not strictly necessary.
In theory I would recommend this book to each and every reader, as it has a tremendous lot to offer and a number of universal themes and messages that are indispensable. However, since the diction can be ponderous at times and the length is considerable, in practice I would recommend the work to seasoned readers who are seeking instruction as well as pleasure in their literary consumption.
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Debuting in 1990, the Thrift Editions library of classic literature is a top choice for teachers, students, librarians, and recreational readers around the world. Dover’s longstanding mission of exceptional value has consistently offered excellence in classic fiction, nonfiction, plays, and poetry.
Dover Thrift Editions are low priced, compact (5"x8"), complete and unabridged.
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From the Publisher
With his sympathetic portrayals of the downtrodden of 19th-century Russian society, Dostoyevsky exercised immense influence on modern writers.
“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.”
“We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken.”
One of the supreme masterpieces of world literature
Crime and Punishment catapulted Fyodor Dostoyevsky to the forefront of Russian writers and into the ranks of the world's greatest novelists.
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.
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Reviews with images
Looks used or chewed by a rodent
I was disappointed to see that when I opened the package the edges look like a rodent chewed in the pages. (Pictures enclosed)My class begins tomorrow so returning is not an option.
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Michel Silveira
Muito bom
Reviewed in Brazil on January 21, 2024
Michel Silveira
Reviewed in Brazil on January 21, 2024
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Elizabeth Egorova
For a Russian, I think that the translation is good
Reviewed in Canada on June 10, 2020
