A review by rileypeper
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Charles W. Goddard

5.0

If you want to do some personal reflection, and think about some of life's more difficult moral questions, this is a great place to start.

I think we all have at least a little bit of Raskolnikov in us. Places in our lives where we feel, hopefully to a lesser degree than Raskolnikov, superior to others. Some questions that this book sparked for me:

-What causes someone like Raskolnikov to feel superior as a person to others?
-Are there places in my life where I feel superior to others? How do I get rid of those areas?
-How do bad role models affect my behavior? (Rakolnikov used the example of Napoleon to justify himself many times throughout the book.)
-What effects do these types of role models have on those who are much younger than me? Are the effects different based on age or maturity?
-If I were somehow put in Raskolnikov's place and had just committed a murder, how would I handle myself? Would I confess quickly? If so, what would my motivation be for confessing?
-How come it is that we have to work our entire lives to become a better better, but you can undo all of your hard work with one bad decision in one second?
-Can you be forgiven of murder?
-The fact that Raskolnikov felt guilt, what does that mean? If you are truly a bad person, are you beyond feeling guilt, or does murder automatically make you a bad person?

Beyond the questions that the book sparked, for me, I think it is important to note how great of a writer Dostoevsky is. Not only is he able to write a compelling story, but he is able to create his characters with what seems like a deep reality. The way his characters interact with each other and the thoughts that they have; there isn't anything superficial about his writing at all.

It took me a while to get through the book, and I found it frustrating that Dostoevsky would refer to the same character by three different names all on the same page, but because I was reading it as an ebook, I was able to keep track of who was who more easily. Oh, also, I didn't know what a yellow card was until very late into the book. That would have helped a little. I'm sure there are plenty of other details that I missed, too. However, I don't think it detracted from my experience.

Lastly, I will say that if I read this book even a year ago, I don't think I would have liked it nearly as much. I wouldn't say that it's a light read. If you aren't really into asking yourself these types of questions, or thinking about human behavior and psychology (not that I know anything about those things, but I am interested in them), then this book might feel too long and drawn out. I think the real genius of the book is how Dostoevsky was able to really make you feel like you are Raskolnikov.