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tshepiso's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don't think I have the words to describe how much I enjoyed reading Crime and Punishment. This brick of a book is insular, miserable, and bleak, but so compelling. What makes it shine is the sprawling character drama at its core. Crime and Punishment read like a soap opera more so than pretentious high-brow literature and the intensity of emotion spewing from the trail of misery in every chapter was enrapturing.
Our protagonist Raskolnikov is the definition of a hot mess. The man truly has never met a bad decision he didn't want to ride to its very end and that lead the story down fascinating paths. He's arrogant and erratic, but also sardonic and witty in a way that made seeing him interact with people he saw as inferior to him so fun. Honestly, there was a kind of catharsis in seeing the chickenheads of his terrible decision-making come home to roost too.
The female characters on display in the story were just to die for. Dostoyevsky manages to write female characters who exist as saintly figures within his narrative without removing their agency or intrigue. Sofya Semyonovna is a fantastic example of how to write a "pure-hearted" woman without patronizing or reducing her. The fibre and backbone she had constantly made her more than just a prop for Raskolnikov's character growth and she felt so genuine and fully fleshed out under Dostoyevsky's careful handling. Tess Durbeyfield wishes she had what she had. Also, a brief shout out to Avdotya Romanovna for being an equally engaging female character who took absolutely no shit from the men around her who tried to manipulate her.
Crime and Punishment is a story about people barely surviving in a world hell-bent on eviscerating them. It's as morose and grimy as the sweltering St. Petersburg streets of its setting, but despite the dramatics of it all Dostoyevsky still managed to capture an honesty to all his characters, even the most despicable, and that made it well worth the read.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Domestic abuse
kuljikejevur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, and Murder
barnacleg00se's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
benasbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, and Murder
edsbigsister's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Murder
ladywildflower's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder
b_caligari's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
caidyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death and Murder