Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

63 reviews

oceanwriter's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I know this is a classic and hailed as a great literary achievement… but I just wasn’t feeling it. 

Raskolnikov murders two women, hailing himself a hero. He believes the world will be a better place, even though things hadn't gone according to plan. As time goes on, deep-seated guilt slowly takes him over, especially as suspicion arises. 

For a book nearly 700 pages long, there isn't a lot of action or much of anything interesting in general. Maybe it was profound for its time, but I found it painfully boring compared to other books with similar themes. Part one was promising enough but then the rest of the book droned on. It just wasn't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Antisemitism

a_potato's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

deargrace's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Physical abuse and Sexual harassment

Minor: Antisemitism and Fire/Fire injury

glass123banan's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Grief, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

hedvigcallmer's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

4.75

Dostojevskijs språk är så vackert, men kära nån, han behöver nog lite terapi (Raskolnikov också, definitivt. Kanske alla karaktärer. Ingen mår bra. Alla mår piss). Även om jag älskade boken, hela sättet den var skriven på, och hur man på så många sätt sympatiserade med en så typisk antihjälte, var den också helt jävla sjuk. Trauma. På riktigt.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Blood, Animal death, Death, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Grief, Mental illness, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Toxic friendship

jaan's review

Victim of a university student’s midterms (the irony is not lost on me). To be reread from the beginning in January, because I, an idiot, left my copy at uni housing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Murder and Sexual harassment

clevermird's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

Installment number ten on my attempt to read the great classics of western literary canon, Crime and Punishment was my intro to the world of Russian literature. I recall saying as I began this one "wow, the first chapter in and I'm already depressed." 

Joking aside, Crime and Punishment tells the story of college dropout Raskolnikov, teetering on the edge of destitution and consumed by a strange mix of depression and lofty philosophical musings. In his half-starved despair, he convinces himself that some murders are morally justified and sets out to prove that theory on his pawnbroker. What follows is a series of intertwined events that will change the lives of everyone involved - and end several of them. 

This was a hard one for me to review because even after spending a month reading it, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I didn't feel like I enjoyed it while I was reading it. The prose is dense, the language complex, and many characters spend a long time monologuing. The subject matter is bleak and gritty. But then, every time I set it down, I found myself wondering what happened next and musing on the characters and motivations. It's a book that makes you feel accomplished when you finish it, one that takes you deep into the interior lives of its characters. It also feels as thought the characters, Raskolnikov in particular, are deeply personal to the author, which adds a layer of richness to the story that I feel like is hard to replicate. 

Overall, not an easy or fun book to read, but one that is a classic for a reason, with a lot to chew on philosophically and some in-depth character study. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, Murder, Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Blood, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Antisemitism and Stalking

naiu_cs's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

It was just too slow paced for my taste. Some chapters kept on going for ages and felt filled with unnecessary information and dialogue. But it had it's moments. The characters were intriguing, if some of them insufferable. The exploration of human emotion and behavior was very interesting as well and could have taken up more of the book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexism

poubelleboi's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

classico russo preferito finora

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, and Suicide

Minor: Antisemitism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Police brutality

gkgkgk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Mental illness, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Child abuse, and Classism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Medical content, Stalking, and Sexual content