Name: Ananya 's review of Crime and Punishment by Constance Garnett
Item: Crime and Punishment
Rating: 5
Author: Ananya

Constance Garnett

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky's classic tale of Rodion Raskolnikov, the murder he commits as an exploration of the human condition, and the crushing criminal and psychological consequences. The two years before he wrote Crime and Punishment (1866) had been bad ones for Dostoyevsky. His wife and brother had died; the magazine he and his brother had started, Epoch, collapsed under its load of debt; and he was threatened with debtor's prison. With an advance that he managed to wangle for an unwritten novel, he fled to Wiesbaden, hoping to win enough at the roulette table to get himself out of debt. Instead, he lost all his money; he had to pawn his clothes and beg friends for loans to pay his hotel bill and get back to Russia. One of his begging letters went to a magazine editor, asking for an advance on yet another unwritten novel - which he described as Crime and Punishment. One of the supreme masterpieces of world literature, Crime and Punishment catapulted Dostoyevsky to the forefront of Russian writers and into the ranks of the world's greatest novelists. Drawing upon experiences from his own prison days, the author recounts in feverish, compelling tones the story of Raskolnikov, an impoverished student tormented by his own nihilism, and the struggle between good and evil. Believing that he is above the law, and convinced that humanitarian ends justify vile means, he brutally murders an old woman - a pawnbroker whom he regards as "stupid, ailing, greedy...good for nothing." Overwhelmed afterwards by feelings of guilt and terror, Raskolnikov confesses to the crime and goes to prison. There he realizes that happiness and redemption can only be achieved through suffering. Infused with forceful religious, social, and philosophical elements, the novel was an immediate success. This extraordinary, unforgettable work is reprinted here in the authoritative Constance Garnett translation. Others novels and novellas by Dostoevsky are: (1846) Poor Folk (novella) (1846) The Double (novella) (1847) The Landlady (novella) (1849) Netochka Nezvanova (unfinished) (1859) Uncle's Dream (novella) (1859) The Village of Stepanchikovo (1861) Humiliated and Insulted (1862) The House of the Dead (1864) Notes from Underground (novella) (1866) Crime and Punishment (1867) The Gambler (novella) (1869) The Idiot (1870) The Eternal Husband (novella) (1872) Demons (also titled: The Possessed, The Devils)[167] (1875) The Adolescent (1880) The Brothers Karamazov

A Novel by the Russian Author Fyodor Dostoevsky

Crime and Punishment

P. Chia

Ananya 

its just raskolnikov and his sofa against the rest of the world

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.

Jaden Nelson

To me, a major part of Crime and Punishment felt like just utter chaos--basically our slightly creepy main character has a mental breakdown every other page and is constantly paranoid about everything. The writing at these parts literally made my eyes dart down the page like I was inside his head, listening to his thoughts move at 1000 miles per hour. These were the parts I liked, actually. Every once in a while, our main character, Raskolnikov (what a name), does a "wicked smile" back to someone or "evil laughs" in the alley alone, and it's creepy, but incredibly interesting. This is an excellent examination of the worsening mental state of a criminal if anything--one that I thought a little long and tangent-filled to be honest. There were entire sections of the story that just didn't really interest me, and I skipped a good few pages. Also, if I were to reread this, I would definitely keep track of the character names and who is who because after awhile Porfiry and Pyotr and such start looking very similar and you are 3/4 of the way through the book and you realize that you aren't sure which main character is which for sure... Maybe this book appeals to others in a different, more nuanced way than it did for me because it wasn't anything super special to me. That's all

P. Chia &
Crime and Punishment by Constance Garnett

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P. Chia &Crime and Punishment by Constance Garnett

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Crime and Punishment by Constance Garnett