Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

66 reviews

virdix14's review against another edition

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

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maryxdarko's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I honestly, don’t even know where to begin with this book, I don’t think I’ll be able to make a cohesive review cause there was SO much to take in but this book was AMAZING, I was most definitely intimidated by the font and the page size but once you get into it, you get completely lost in the story, some may consider this a slow paced read... and it is, but the plot and the themes or religion, consciousness, crime and what it means to bring justice, what would happen if humanity thought they were above crime, it tackles those themes so well that you don’t feel like you are reading a 656 page worth of a book. 5/5!!

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laurenvoice's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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.

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wilde_for_books's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced
  • 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

4.0


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impeachnixon's review

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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

3.75


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slutforalbertcamus's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

C'est ma critique sans analyse poussée, direct après avoir refermé le livre et sans temps de réflexion. 

Mon premier réflexe est de parler de la fin. Les deux derniers chapitres de ce livre continuent cette longue tradition que j'ai de lire des livres avec des fins magnifiques, que ce soit L'Etranger, Les Fleurs du Mal, Du Côté de Chez Swann ou même l'Ingénu (un livre que je hais à part pour cette fin), les fins sont souvent les meilleurs parties du roman. Cette fin adresse enfin la résurrection qui a été présentée à travers tout ce long récit, à travers le personnage de Sonia, Porphiri, et simplement le mythe de Lazare. Cette fin acte la résurrection par l'amour, ce qui en tant que tel pourrait paraître un peu... déjà vu, mais qui semble dans ce roman prendre une forme toute nouvelle et incroyablement touchante.

Du reste je dirais que ce livre est un chef-d'oeuvre thématique, dans le sens où tous les concepts ici explorés sont parfaitement reliés et atteignent tous des conclusions satisfaisantes. Le livre a des défauts certains, avec l'antisémitisme au premier plan et peut-être le traitement des personnages féminins, et Dostoïevski n'est certainement pas un ange. Mais malgré tout cela, c'est une lecture intense et immensément immersive que propose ce livre.

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nachtvlucht's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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hannahchristine's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

4.25

It took a while to get through it and follow the events especially since the amount of different names all the characters had made it even more complicated. I'm very glad I read it though and I did like the way and tone the story was told in, very distant and blunt I'd say. I'm not sure I completely got the point and the moral of the story but I did get something out of it. 

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arealhuman's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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brianjohnson4's review against another edition

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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

One of the most captivating, masterfully written accounts of loneliness, paranoia, and the mind’s fragility ever written. It gives language to the  indescribable range of emotions that haunt us all as we question our decisions and live with their aftermath. 

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