Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Crime and Punishment

It was hard to decide which star rating to give this book. Crime and Punishment is a fascinating read, yet, at the same time can be quite dull!

I read this edition of Crime and Punishment alongside listening to the Audible edition read by Will Poulter. First and foremost, it has to be said that Poulter gave a marvellous performance of Crime and Punishment. Poulter played each character well and can keep the reader engrossed throughout this Russian classic.

However, it did not occur to me that this Penguin Vintage Classic edition would be translated differently to the Audible edition. This was rather silly of me to think they would be translated the same. Anyway, it is quite easy to get two different interpretations of the book but it is easy, however, to know that this book was about a crime and indeed a punishment.

Crime and Punishment to my surprise was much more graphic than I expected it to be, and of course, the crime was not as I would have expected. Raskolnikov drove himself insane, but, it seemed he never felt guilt for the crime he committed. It was a rather odd read, but, it was an important read, nevertheless.

Dostoevsky talked a lot about psychology in this story, and for someone who has studied Forensic Psychology and Criminal Psychology, I am shocked that this book was never recommended. This book would be a good read for those that study or are interested in psychology, especially in the fields of forensics, criminal psychology, and criminology. As Crime and Punishment discusses many philosophical debates concerning crime, justice and society.

Furthermore, it was also interesting from a feminist point of view, how Dostoevsky talked about women. Although this book does have a patriarchal air about it, there were scenes that showed the reader that demonising and abusing women and children was in itself a criminal act. In one scene, for example, Raskolnikov tried and gave money to protect a young girl that had clearly been assaulted by some men. We also saw how Marfa Petrovna had cleared Dunya's name after accusing her of seducing a married man, when it was in actual fact, a man trying to take advantage of Dunya. Finally, we also saw the disgust that Raskolnikov had about Svidrigailov, a middle-aged man, taking a girl barely 16-years-old as a fiancée.

Overall, Crime and Punishment left me feeling indifferent. Yes, Crime and Punishment is both an important and engrossing read, it also goes off on tangents and lengthy descriptions that seemed rather unnecessary, making the book quite dull at times.

Content Warnings