Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

62 reviews

cherryfreckle's review against another edition

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

4.0


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the_embodiment_of_chaos's review against another edition

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emlibe's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.25


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dianam1206's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0


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marilla07's review against another edition

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

4.0


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taqi_hamoda's review against another edition

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

5.0

If you think that you are a morally driven person, I recommend you read this novel. It showcases how difficult and convoluted life can be. It left me speechless, questioning who am I as a person.

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woolgathering_jane's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.5

“Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.”
 I had way different expectations about what this book was actually about, but once I got over my initial disappointment, I quite enjoyed it. For this many pages, it's surprisingly easy to read and offers a fascinating view of Russia at the time. I love how Dostoevsky plays with the themes in this book - in peak realist literature, we follow a main character who thinks of himself as a true romantic hero (while he is, in reality, a typical realistic one). I loved how vivid all of the characters were. The look into Raskolnikov's mind was fascinating, but I found myself wishing for more detail (as odd as it sounds).
 And in my eyes, the ending, the last chapter elevated the story to a whole another level.
I'm in love with how Raskolnikov chose love and a good ending for himself, and how Dostoevsky signalled to us that no person is ever completely lost. I like the sharp contrast between the main story and the ending - the main story is rather depressing and bleak, while the ending is so hopeful. And I also love how, in retrospect, we were heading to this ending the whole time - despite all of his mistakes, Raskolnikov was dearly loved by several people the whole time. And the unconditional love was what saved him in the end. Beautiful.

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blau_elmo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

4.25

The legendary thrilling tale by Dostoevsky.

A long, challenging read with many inane rambles (as expected from a Dostoevsky novel), with elements of philosophy, his usual disdain for Russian nihilism and apathy, all through a story involving (surprise) the titular crime, one of pettiness and simple anger.

The way Raskolnikov went from trying to avoid the topic, to trying to justify how only the most dignified men could get away with crime (and that it was honourable to do so), to finding comfort and redemption in Sonya, to being led astray by Svidrigailov's hedonism, the twists and turns combined with Dostoevsky's dark humour was thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking at the same time.

Still, a huge challenge to get through due to its sheer volume of text.

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loyaultemelie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Edit: Though I initially left Crime and Punishment unrated, I must capitulate to the inevitable. This was my second favorite book I read in 2023. It made me discover (much to my self-loathing) one of my favorite authors. I think about this book, almost every. single. day. It would be the height of folly for me not to give Crime and Punishment five stars. 

People who say Dostoevsky had an instinctive understanding of the way humans work are not wrong. The complexity of every character is at times overwhelming. Though Dostoevsky does not refrain from casting moral judgement, he does place everyone and everything within a living, breathing world.
We know why Rodya commits murder. We also understand the acuteness of both his suffering, and of his arrogance. He believed that he could be a 'great man,' but instead it was he - not Sonya, who he tells this often misquoted and misunderstood out of context line to - whose 'worst sin is that [he's] betrayed and destroyed [himself] for nothing.' That we the audience, and Sonya herself, sees this while he doesn't is proof of masterful writing.

Regardless of how much I dislike Dostoevsky's philosophy later in life. Regardless of how complicated the legacy of 'great' Russian literature is. All these things are important to remember. But I would also be lying to myself if I pretended that this book did not touch me in spite of all of that. I adore this book, plain and simple. I must reckon with that. 


Despite my personal loathing for Dostoevsky as a human, I did indeed enjoy this novel. I will say Garnett’s translation is my personal favorite - I believe she captures Dostoevsky’s manic prose better than P&V

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nereanpi's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-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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