Fyodor Dostoevsky

Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemption.
This vivid translation by David McDuff has been acclaimed as the most accessible version of Dostoyevsky’s great novel, rendering its dialogue with a unique force and naturalism. This edition also includes a new chronology of Dostoyevsky’s life and work.

Crime and Punishment

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If once a girl’s heart is moved to pity, it’s more dangerous than anything.

anet

Honoured sir,' he began almost with Solemnity, poverty is not a vice, that's a true saying. Yet I know too that drunkenness is not a virtue, and that that's even truer. But beggary, honoured sir, beggary is a vice. In poverty you may still retain your innate nobility of soul, but in beggary - never - no one. 

Do you understand, sir, do you understand what it means when you have absolutely nowhere to turn?' Marmeladov's question came suddenly into his mind, for every man must have somewhere to turn'

Crime and punishment

“He was so immersed in himself and had isolated himself so much from everyone that he was afraid not only of meeting his landlady but of meeting anyone at all”

Duška

And when the heart of a young woman experiences pity for someone, then, naturally, that's the most dangerous thing for her. She conceives at once a desire 'to save' him,

TRANSLATED BY RICHARD PEVEAR AND LARISSA VOLOKHONSKY Consumed by the idea of his own special destiny, immured in poverty and deprivation, Rashkolnikov is drawn to commit a terrible crime. In the aftermath, Rashkolnikov is dogged by madness, guilt and a calculating detective, and a feverish cat-and-mouse game unfolds. The only hope for redemption, if Rashkolnikov can but recognise it, lies in the virtuous and faithful Sonya. The Vintage Classic Russians Series- Published for the 100th anniversary of the 1917 Russian Revolution, these are must-have, beautifully designed editions of six epic masterpieces that have survived controversy, censorship and suppression to influence decades of thought and artistic expression.

Crime and Punishment (Vintage Classic Russians Series)

‘Where was it,’ Raskolnikov thought as he walked on, ‘where was it that I read about a man condemned to death saying or thinking, an hour before his death, that if he had to live somewhere high up on a cliffside, on a ledge so narrow that there was room only for his two feet—and with the abyss, the ocean, eternal darkness, eternal solitude, eternal storm all around him—and had to stay like that, on a square foot of space, an entire lifetime, a thousand years, an eternity—it would be better to live so than to die right now! Only to live, to live, to live! To live, no matter how—only to live!

Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov, a brilliant yet conflicted student lives in a rented room of a run-down apartment in St. Petersburg. Extremely handsome, proud and intelligent, Raskolnikov devises a peculiar theory about ?intelligent? men being above law.To execute his theory, he contemplates committing a crime. He murders a cynical and an unscrupulous pawnbroker named Alyona Ivanovna and her sister Lizaveta.The act compels Raskolnikov to negotiate and reconcile with his own moral dilemmas.Fyodor Dostoevsky?s incisive psychological analysis of his protagonist goes beyond Raskolnikov?s criminal act and covers his perilous journey from suffering to redemption.First published in The Russian Messenger in monthly instalments during 1866, Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky?s second novel following his return from exile in Siberia, is a powerful revelation of the human condition. Is crime acceptable in the pursuit of a higher purpose.

akshita

In a timeless story of justice, morality, and redemption, an impoverished Russian student murders a miserly landlady, a crime that has severe repercussions on his life and his family as he battles his conscience.

Katia :)

Its such a stroke of luck to read it for the first time at 23. The same age as Raskolnikov

Isabella

A remarkable masterpiece of Dostoyevsky in the world of Russian's fiction. It captivates the crime and psychological tensions of life. It is a tragic tale of a protagonist Raskolnikov, who puts his philosophical theories to the trial of murder eventually. He is incapable to understand the feelings of love and commiseration because he regards himself as a pariah. Mesmerizing!

Easyread Edition

Molly M

how fabulous omg. i have nothing intelligent to say lol i loved it

Indulgent far too much for my likings at some moments; however the writing of neuroticism is great. Ideological caricatures often failed to fully capture my attention

Clay Carey

engrossing stories cobbled into a less than perfect criticism of revolution

Jeremiah Cha

Maximus

Here we find ourselves in 1860's during a hot summer in St. Petersburg, a city of bedlam engulfed with poverty, drunkards, and dissolute bureaucrats. The story focuses on a young man by the name of Rodion Raskolnikov (or should I say "Rascal"nikov). A brainy former student who was expelled from university, lives in squalor and finds himself relying upon the services of an old and decrepit pawnbroker in an attempt to make ends meet. Motivated by anger and a personal sense of injustice, he sees fit to murder the elderly pawnbroker in the hopes of stealing her valuables to make a better life for himself and his family. The outcome is that while no-one seemingly suspects him of murder, he is plagued with a deep feeling of alientation from society, illness and a tormented heart.

I found the book to be a little dense and challenging, but in a good way. It was highly educational and certainly worth the effort. The story was great. I also wanted to mention how impactful the epilogue was.

I found that this book offers a multitude of insightful scopes, including but not limited to the complexities that surround personal opinions on justification and morality, the difficulty and importance of retaining emotional balance, especially in the most challenging of times, the ramifications of one's self-imposed pseudo-submergence into Nihilism, the conflicts that exist between society and the individual ("ordinary vs. extraordinary") and what devastating results can ensue from the triad of illness, narcissism and poverty-stricken desperation.

This novel has solidified my apprectiation for Dostoevsky, his artistry and a new-found interest to immerse myself in more of his works. 

It reminds me a little of A Happy Death by Albert Camus, but significantly better.

jack

i cried about 5 times throughout this book. goddamn! definitely going to have to read some more dostoevsky. i enjoyed essentially everything about this book. gonna have to go back and reread a couple sections just to Feel them again.

This guy could benefit from some 21st century mental health care

sophie <3

Fyodor

In this classic work, Dostoyevsky creates an intimacy that is claustrophobic, full of tension, and as haunting and relentless as a love affair. Begun as a novel concerned with the psychology of a crime and the processes of guilt, it surpasses itself to take on the tragic force of myth.

hileahrious

I have great trouble accepting this as one of the greatest literary works of all time… perhaps of ITS time, but by no means did it leave me speechless or reeling as other novels I’ve enjoyed. Maybe it’s not my style… it didn’t evoke much of anything within me?

I will say, it is absolute good fun. It is not without drama, and the anti-hero is beautifully depicted through Raskolnikoff’s character and the journey through his mind is hilarious yet frustrating. There is this feeling of agony throughout the entire book of not knowing entirely what is going on, which I’m not sure is on purpose but either way I think it very much accompanies the attitudes and thoughts a person might suffer upon killing another.

At one point toward the beginning I jotted down “a hilarious description of depression” and to then see how that mental state evolves into murder and mania was (darkly) entertaining. 

It is of course extremely well-written and psychologically detailed, but also wildly unreasonable and choppy in terms of other character development and setting, and as a visual reader that was a bit annoying for me. Still, I was never bored per se… I had a similar sensation when reading Tolstoy, so maybe this is the art of great Russian writers.

lexie

Ziggy

do NOT buy the clearance ideologies off shein

I can’t even complain about the struggles I may have had with this book because my god isn’t it just a gorgeous masterpiece? Truly Fydor Dovestky was an author ahead of his time. 

We follow “Rodion”, and his conflicting life of morality, moral depravity and unequal life. it begins with him wallowing in a life of pity, of shame, of illness and of poverty. We see the peaks and crests of his life, allowing us to relate it to our own lives, making this novel utterly timeless. I love it. Could might as well be one of my favourite classics and favourite novels of all time.

I struggled with names and also with following the plot, so I’m most probably going to follow this story up with act summaries and explanations. But for a Novel of age and also from Russia, a little confusion had to be expected. 

Pick it up. Start it. It’s fine if it takes a while to read, because when it lifts off, you’ll enjoy it in its entirety; difficult names and all. 

surtified™

I can’t even complain about the struggles I may have had with this book because my god isn’t it just a gorgeous masterpiece? Truly Fydor Dovestky was an author ahead of his time. 

We follow “Rodion”, and his conflicting life of morality, moral depravity and unequal life. it begins with him wallowing in a life of pity, of shame, of illness and of poverty. We see the peaks and crests of his life, allowing us to relate it to our own lives, making this novel utterly timeless. I love it. Could might as well be one of my favourite classics and favourite novels of all time.

I struggled with names and also with following the plot, so I’m most probably going to follow this story up with act summaries and explanations. But for a Novel of age and also from Russia, a little confusion had to be expected. 

Pick it up. Start it. It’s fine if it takes a while to read, because when it lifts off, you’ll enjoy it in its entirety; difficult names and all. 

I'm finally done reading this book. Since I don't have much free time I would read this book sometimes during morning coffee. We did analyse this book in school, but, oh well, it did not prepare me for what happened. Book has many interesting stuff aside the main point. I would read it again and I'm looking forward to reading more books written by F.D.. Also I know book is written during realism but why is every young woman described like a little child?

Korbin

melanie 

A few words about Dostoevsky himself may help the English reader to understand his work. Dostoevsky was the son of a doctor. His parents were very hard-working and deeply religious people, but so poor that they lived with their five children in only two rooms. The father and mother spent their evenings in reading aloud to their children, generally from books of a serious character. Though always sickly and delicate Dostoevsky came out third in the final examination of the Petersburg school of Engineering. There he had already begun his first work, “Poor Folk.” This story was published by the poet Nekrassov in his review and was received with acclamations. The shy, unknown youth found himself instantly something of a celebrity. A brilliant and successful career seemed to open before him, but those hopes were soon dashed. In 1849 he was arrested.

Crime And Punishment

Benedict Neo

My first ever Dostoyevsky book. Reading his books is truly something else. The beginning to me was pretty hard to follow, with characters popping up from all corners. But I really enjoyed peering into the psychology of Raskolnikov, and experiencing the dichotomy between his pre-murder self, and post-murder self. 

What this book really taught me was the danger of ideologies, and how applying rationality and adhering to philosophical thoughts like Utilitarianism, although seems rational in thought experiments, is highly unrealistic and just doesn't work in the real world. 

Throughout the novel I felt sympathy for Raskolnikov, while knowing he was a stone-cold killer who murdered two innocent women, his overall life condition was terrible and was under an ailment. However, it did not justify killing and I find the consequences of his action and what happened to him in the end fair and just. I really liked the ending, and I can't wait to read more of Dostoyevsky's work, especially the The Brothers Karamazov.

After a month I have finally finished my first ever Dostoevsky!!! 

There is absolutely no need for a review of this book at all however I will give my very brief "take" and reading experience of this piece of literature. (aka a word & thought dump because I simply cannot put it all cohesively together this soon after finishing)

I think its really important to note that the way this story was published was in parts, serialized format, and Dostoevsky loves a cliffhanger. (so expect long long chapters) 

The nature of morality. Fundamentally existentialist, a incredible look into the psychology and nature of man. What happens when you tear down the moral structure? Religion and natural law gets questioned.

Atmospherical and so dense that I felt all the emotions possible when reading... 

What stood out to me and interested me the most was the use of the word "mechanically" when describing a lot of Raskolnikov's actions. The use of words like this and "without thought" really implied a lack of free will in himself. This theme is also shown in other characters as well, I have no idea what this could mean, I noticed it however and I thought it was really interesting.. perhaps a look into the morality issue, is fate decided for you? if its "mechanically inclined" is it therefore just? 

Raskolnikov has no money and it is shown from the start that he is in a almost desperate state of mind having to postpone his studies because he cannot afford. He eats next to nothing and lives in rags. Although he does not care? When presented with money he does not take it, when he does have it he gives it away to others to help themselves.. multiple times. He is not materialistic so why commit this crime? Seemingly uncharacteristic, no monetary motive and fraught with severe self turmoil and guilt. (he literally fainted whenever the murder was mentioned... which was a lot)   

I will stop rambling on about this now, however I will be rereading this in the future and I am sure I will learn even more about this, as it is such a DENSE body of work that it is near impossible to understand after reading only once. 

If you have read this book and have opinions/interpretations about it please let me know because I would love to learn more.

jaz ☁️

After a month I have finally finished my first ever Dostoevsky!!! 

There is absolutely no need for a review of this book at all however I will give my very brief "take" and reading experience of this piece of literature. (aka a word & thought dump because I simply cannot put it all cohesively together this soon after finishing)

I think its really important to note that the way this story was published was in parts, serialized format, and Dostoevsky loves a cliffhanger. (so expect long long chapters) 

Morality

The nature of morality. Fundamentally existentialist, a incredible look into the psychology and nature of man. What happens when you tear down the moral structure? Religion and natural law gets questioned.

Atmospherical and so dense that I felt all the emotions possible when reading... 

What stood out to me and interested me the most was the use of the word "mechanically" when describing a lot of Raskolnikov's actions. The use of words like this and "without thought" really implied a lack of free will in himself. This theme is also shown in other characters as well, I have no idea what this could mean, I noticed it however and I thought it was really interesting.. perhaps a look into the morality issue, is fate decided for you? if its "mechanically inclined" is it therefore just? 

Poverty

Raskolnikov has no money and it is shown from the start that he is in a almost desperate state of mind having to postpone his studies because he cannot afford. He eats next to nothing and lives in rags. Although he does not care? When presented with money he does not take it, when he does have it he gives it away to others to help themselves.. multiple times. He is not materialistic so why commit this crime? Seemingly uncharacteristic, no monetary motive and fraught with severe self turmoil and guilt. (he literally fainted whenever the murder was mentioned... which was a lot)   

I will stop rambling on about this now, however I will be rereading this in the future and I am sure I will learn even more about this, as it is such a DENSE body of work that it is near impossible to understand after reading only once. 

If you have read this book and have opinions/interpretations about it please let me know because I would love to learn more.

Read this for a class, and oh dear god, such a treat! A supreme achievement in world literature for the right reasons.

Vaishali Batra

A novel built out of a series of dramatic scenes that illuminate eternal conflicts at the heart of human existence: most especially our desire for self-expression and self-fulfilment, as against the constraints of morality and human laws.

Amanda Faith

this took me forever but it was worth it.
i would give it a 5 stars if it wasnt such a bore on occasion.
its been like two months since i gave it four stars and i change my mind something about this book feels so personal to me now.
oh maybe because it took me five whole months to finish.

bella <3

thank god i am finally out of this man's head

poprika

Fran Lewis

glad to have finally read this book. i found the names were very long and so similar that I often had to go back and reread to ensure I was thinking of the correct character. Overall an interesting read.

Classic for a reason. I found the book to be dense but purposeful, and I enjoyed the layered themes centred around crime, and social isolation. While it was dense, each chapter has its own distinct feel and reason for being which meant that I was able to spend time with 10 pages in a sitting and feel satiated with the information provided. However, as someone that does want to get through books, I did find it tough to stay zoned in and power through the middle third. 

Nicholas Laurie

I was intimidated by the length but honestly it was worth it.

The book was a little slow paced but it wasn't hard to follow the plot (at least for me).

The concepts and themes Dostoyevsky discusses there are very intriguing. 

Raskolnikov is such an interesting character because his decisions and actions are obviously evil, but at times he also shows kindness. I tried to psychoanalyze him throughout the book but he's still questionable.

Also, Dostoyevsky's scenery is very vivid, I could picture everything and he described each character perfectly and gave the perfect amount of information about each one.

Yalin Tsikun

I was intimidated by the length but honestly it was worth it.

The book was a little slow paced but it wasn't hard to follow the plot (at least for me).

The concepts and themes Dostoyevsky discusses there are very intriguing. 

Raskolnikov is such an interesting character because his decisions and actions are obviously evil, but at times he also shows kindness. I tried to psychoanalyze him throughout the book but he's still questionable.

Also, Dostoyevsky's scenery is very vivid, I could picture everything and he described each character perfectly and gave the perfect amount of information about each one.

Jenna

Oh my Goddddd, this was amazing. Very slow paced and heavy it took me nearly a month to get through but it was so worth it. It is so dense with content i could read 10 pages and feel satisfied and the way it was written was in a way where I could not see any major plot points coming at all until I read them. I went into this book blind, knowing nothing about it and I honestly think that's the best way to read this book. I cried and laughed multiple times, and ended up becoming weirdly attached to the characters, which was surprising considering when this book was written and it's subject matters.

Crime and Punishment

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