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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Though it’s wrapped up in a heavy psychological character study and filled with dense philosophical rants, at its core “Crime and Punishment” is a pretty straightforward morality tale. Raskolnikov commits murder (and then another to cover up the first) because he believes he’s doing it for the greater good, but finds that despite what his head thinks, his heart won’t accept the idea that the ends justify the means. Similarly, though I think the ideas that the story presents are interesting in theory, emotionally it just didn’t click for me.
Whenever I read a translated work, I always wonder how much I’m missing from the original, from the broader cultural context to the subtle turns of phrase that have no clear English equivalent. In this case, though, one aspect of Dostovesky’s style clearly wasn’t lost in translation, and that’s his tendency to have his characters ramble on and on and on, oftentimes for several pages on end with little or no paragraph breaks. It gets exhausting to read, and the characters frequently speak their mind so clearly and directly that they start feeling less like people and more like mouthpieces for certain philosophical positions that Dostoevsky wants to portray. Sometimes, like when Raskolnikov is trying to explain the social theory that motivated his crime, or when Porfiry is psychoanalyzing him, the rabid, breathless monologues actually work quite well - but a lot of the time it just feels excessive and out of place.
Another issue for me was just how melodramatically the characters behaved. Raskolnikov’s manic behavior is understandable, considering his situation, but pretty much every single character is also constantly exclaiming, smiling strangely, crying, and having rapid mood swings. Their behaviors and actions often feel downright alien - at one point, Dounia shoots Svidrigailov, who barely reacts to nearly being killed, and then she lets him embrace her despite seemingly just being in fear for her life. I’m not opposed to a deliberate lack of realism in storytelling, and I understand that people often behave in irrational ways, but it was just so hard to understand and relate to that it ended up leaving me feeling cold towards the whole thing.
Despite its length, it was surprisingly not as difficult of a read as I expected. The prose and vocabulary are fairly straightforward (if sometimes a little clunkily worded, possibly due to the translation I read - I’ve heard Constance Garnett isn’t the best), there are some genuinely tense and engaging moments that feel like they’re straight out of a modern crime thriller. But unfortunately, it didn’t really have nearly as big of an impact on me as I had hoped for, given the reputation that it has.
Whenever I read a translated work, I always wonder how much I’m missing from the original, from the broader cultural context to the subtle turns of phrase that have no clear English equivalent. In this case, though, one aspect of Dostovesky’s style clearly wasn’t lost in translation, and that’s his tendency to have his characters ramble on and on and on, oftentimes for several pages on end with little or no paragraph breaks. It gets exhausting to read, and the characters frequently speak their mind so clearly and directly that they start feeling less like people and more like mouthpieces for certain philosophical positions that Dostoevsky wants to portray. Sometimes, like when Raskolnikov is trying to explain the social theory that motivated his crime, or when Porfiry is psychoanalyzing him, the rabid, breathless monologues actually work quite well - but a lot of the time it just feels excessive and out of place.
Another issue for me was just how melodramatically the characters behaved. Raskolnikov’s manic behavior is understandable, considering his situation, but pretty much every single character is also constantly exclaiming, smiling strangely, crying, and having rapid mood swings. Their behaviors and actions often feel downright alien - at one point, Dounia shoots Svidrigailov, who barely reacts to nearly being killed, and then she lets him embrace her despite seemingly just being in fear for her life. I’m not opposed to a deliberate lack of realism in storytelling, and I understand that people often behave in irrational ways, but it was just so hard to understand and relate to that it ended up leaving me feeling cold towards the whole thing.
Despite its length, it was surprisingly not as difficult of a read as I expected. The prose and vocabulary are fairly straightforward (if sometimes a little clunkily worded, possibly due to the translation I read - I’ve heard Constance Garnett isn’t the best), there are some genuinely tense and engaging moments that feel like they’re straight out of a modern crime thriller. But unfortunately, it didn’t really have nearly as big of an impact on me as I had hoped for, given the reputation that it has.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really loved this - particularly the first bit and last bits. It was engaging, although sometimes a bit confusing in the middle.
Tried so hard to get into it, but it's too hard, not my type of literature I guess. Might try again in the future because I did enjoy it at the beginning but after the crime I just couldn't anymore, the story wasn't going anywhere for me
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes