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A review by kyscg
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of the greatest literary works ever written. I read this book first in the Monsoon of 2016 and I remember not being impressed by the monologues and the stories of characters peripheral to Raskolnikov. And that is why one re-reads books of this stature, to realize how much one has grown.
I hope to write a longer essay about this book someday but for now, I'll just list the themes that stood out to me while I was reading the book. I read the Constance Garnett translation for now but the Michael Katz translation is something I want to read before everything else.
- The psyche of Raskolnikov (murderer, extraordinary man, depression, kindness) (the psychological effects of the crime) (all four of Raskolnikov's nightmares)
- Marmeladov's speech in the tavern to Raskolnikov (*"why should I be pitied?"*)
- Raskolnikov's reluctance to accept help from everyone apart from Sonya
- Raskolnikov & Porfiry Petrovich (the legal system, the debate about his essay, Porfiry as a father figure to Raskolnikov)
- Raskolnikov & Svidrigailov (extraordinary men, immorality vs. amorality)
- Raskolnikov & Sonya (the theist and the atheist, both hopeless, and their attempts to understand) (Sonya as cathartic agent to Raskolnikov's suffering)
- Crime and Punishment as a commentary on Russian society at the time (this is probably beyond my scope and ability)
- Crime and Punishment as a book about matricide.
I hope to write a longer essay about this book someday but for now, I'll just list the themes that stood out to me while I was reading the book. I read the Constance Garnett translation for now but the Michael Katz translation is something I want to read before everything else.
- The psyche of Raskolnikov (murderer, extraordinary man, depression, kindness) (the psychological effects of the crime) (all four of Raskolnikov's nightmares)
- Marmeladov's speech in the tavern to Raskolnikov (*"why should I be pitied?"*)
- Raskolnikov's reluctance to accept help from everyone apart from Sonya
- Raskolnikov & Porfiry Petrovich (the legal system, the debate about his essay, Porfiry as a father figure to Raskolnikov)
- Raskolnikov & Svidrigailov (extraordinary men, immorality vs. amorality)
- Raskolnikov & Sonya (the theist and the atheist, both hopeless, and their attempts to understand) (Sonya as cathartic agent to Raskolnikov's suffering)
- Crime and Punishment as a commentary on Russian society at the time (this is probably beyond my scope and ability)
- Crime and Punishment as a book about matricide.