Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment is the first book by Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky which i have read (as i imagine it would be to most people), and i must say that i was very impressed. The novel's premise is set out from the off really, the destitute protagonist Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is forced to sell any items of value to Alyona Ivanovna. Early on in the novel he decides that he is to kill...more

Crime and Punishment is the first book by Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky which i have read (as i imagine it would be to most people), and i must say that i was very impressed. The novel's premise is set out from the off really, the destitute protagonist Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is forced to sell any items of value to Alyona Ivanovna. Early on in the novel he decides that he is to kill the old lady, but not just the money something more. The story which follows is based around Raskonikov's struggle with his own mind, his feeling of guilt and his struggled to maintain his own innocence. It must be said that this is a novel where there isn't a great deal happening. Most of what is happening is inside Raskonikov's head, which i found greatly interesting. The way in which Dostoevsky has planned out the thought processes of a main who is consumed by the heavy burden and brought it too the page is pure brilliance and is gripping through and through. All of the characters which enhabit Dostoevsky's St Petersberg are all full of their own idiosyncrasies which become unmistakeable when you get to know them. This fullness of character leads to some page turning dialogue which no matter how mudane the subject matter may is throughly compelling. Crime and punishment is however a fairly heavy read at times, it took me much longer to finish this book than many others. This is most probally due to time in which it was written and the fact it has been translated from Russian. 4 Stars   hide

excellent! though i hate to designate my favorite book, i believe this is it. an incredible amount of depth and breadth. i don't even know where to begin. raskolnikov's conflict, his desire to be more than his physical being, to be greater than the "common louse", really hit home for me. it is a very raw emotion, to feel insignificant, and a very real deisre to be unique and important. i...more

excellent! though i hate to designate my favorite book, i believe this is it. an incredible amount of depth and breadth. i don't even know where to begin. raskolnikov's conflict, his desire to be more than his physical being, to be greater than the "common louse", really hit home for me. it is a very raw emotion, to feel insignificant, and a very real deisre to be unique and important. i believe that it is only those who are complacent who cannot identify with raskolnikov's desire. to be honest, i was a bit disappointed that dostoevsky's point (one of them) is that significance cannot be stiven for (and the ending was a bit cheesy - finding the new testament under your pillow? please). however, dostoevsky is kinda right. i believe it is admiral to strive for significance, but one cannot forsake moral law in doing so. when one feels they can justify murder, there are serious social repercussions. take any dictator who pretends to be working for the greater good and you have a successful raskolnikov. this is why dostoevsky wrote this book. he was afraid of the nihilist movement in russia at the time, a movement that was propagating more and more the ideology expressed in raskolnikov's article, and was afraid of what new morality (or lack thereof) it would bring. once again, excellent!   hide

Some of the chapters are really boring. This book is not entirely my type, but it was interesting to see how an intellectual came to commit this crime due to some delirious condition of his mind. Bipolar disorder. Interesting portrayl. The crime was a result of a theory he conceived about the nature of man’s abilities; that is, some have abilities which make them extraordinary while...more

Some of the chapters are really boring. This book is not entirely my type, but it was interesting to see how an intellectual came to commit this crime due to some delirious condition of his mind. Bipolar disorder. Interesting portrayl. The crime was a result of a theory he conceived about the nature of man’s abilities; that is, some have abilities which make them extraordinary while other possess no abilities. It was this intellectual aspect of his character that causes him to conceive and execute his crime. He wants to see if he had the daring to transcend conscience. His punishment comes about as a result of the transcendence of conscience. I guess the punishment for crimes commited by insane individuals are to be assessed differently. This is a book I give 3. Roskolnikov never really came to understand that, the society cannot function in utopia. The society of ours is a blend of good and evil and a theory to police around the evil for a complete transformation of the world esp.. by putting beings in categories of superiority is just ludacris. I think a reader needs to understand that this is an error in an intellectual mind. Transgressing moral authority and unbounded human compassion. Overall however, the psychoanalysis of a delirious mind was well portrayed by Dostoyevsky.    hide

This story has the most gut renching conclussion of anything I have ever read. I'm not a psych student but I can appreciate the complexity of the human mind after this. This is a great dipiction of that period in Russia's history not your extravagant rich tolstoy and all the dinning and balls. This show's you average people struggling, especially those as clever as Raskolinikov. Intilligence is...more

This story has the most gut renching conclussion of anything I have ever read. I'm not a psych student but I can appreciate the complexity of the human mind after this. This is a great dipiction of that period in Russia's history not your extravagant rich tolstoy and all the dinning and balls. This show's you average people struggling, especially those as clever as Raskolinikov. Intilligence is not just for the wealthy. Vrazumihin shows that in poverty there is beauty and nobility whilst Sonia, poor Sonia, She shows a helplessness, an honesty that, transcends the shame of her actual occupation. What is fairer or nobler than a damsel in eternal distress.The constant argument over religion and the shackles it cast over its followers, is a key theme that Dostoyevsky and Tolsoy converge upon and arrive at inconclusive conclussions. Whilst their styles could not be more divergent they in some respect reflect night and day. My favorite theme however is the dark theme of the devine right of the few moral flexibility. "You are not guilty of crime if you believe it isn't a crime" That took guts to say. I admire Fyodor.    hide