Crime and Punishment (Vintage Classics)

I will never be the same.
“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on Earth.”I can definitively say that Crime and Punishment is by far the best written work I have ever read. Never have I had an experience where I reached the word Epilogue and did not want to continue, knowing that if I finish this book, I would not have any sense of completeness or gratification, no sense of “what’s next?” or excitement to read another book, but rather I knew for a fact that once I finished that Epilogue that there would be nothing in this world that would come close to this masterpiece.The writing was outstanding. Every character has such a distinct voice that you know exactly who is talking without having to be told who it is redundantly. Every single character is complex and full of cognitive dissonance and moral/social questions and critiques. The world itself is a dark, gloomy, humid and disgusting forlorn depiction of late 19th century Petersburg, which only adds to the grim story.Speaking of the story, the plot is a paper thin excuse to have the many complex characters interact in a gripping drama and has its “climax,” so to speak, in the first 100 or so pages, and the rest of the novel is full of the thrilling drama that comes from the many conflicts and dilemmas that arise from the heinous crime that our main character commits, eventually culminating in an actual climax, though fittingly anti-climactic and realistic, in the final pages.That main character being Raskolnikov. While all of the characters in this novel are absolutely genius, there was no character I resonated with more than Raskolnikov. For context, I have struggled with dissociations and intrusive thoughts all of my life, and the way Dostoevsky writes both dissociation and intrusive/obsessive thoughts so perfectly over and over and over without it growing stale or redundant/inaccurate is hauntingly beautiful. It goes to show just how much Dostoevsky suffered after staring down the barrel of the gun that was to execute him.Raskolnikov has enough moral and social struggles within him for multiple people, for even a whole social movement, and that is because he is, in fact, two souls in the same body, or rather a body’s soul delicately split in two. His contradictions and varying voices, thoughts, actions, and his eventual growth, healing, and acceptance are gripping, thrilling, beautiful, evocative, endearing, and above all else, inspiring. Seeing parts of myself in his character was chilling, knowing that I’m by no means the first or last person to do so, and seeing those parts of himself lead him down dark paths or to healing actually taught me a thing or two about myself. Raskolnikov brought about a feeling of authentic representation and a feeling of self-actualization and self-awareness that makes me judge myself on a more realistic level and keep my ego in check. But here I am writing a review for a literary classic, so am I really? Who’s to say. Napoleon wouldn’t leave this review.. I’m getting ahead of myself.There are so many quotes, characters, quiet moments of self-reflection and questions about humanity and morality that still linger in me to this day, months after putting the book down. I have dreams about this book, about the ideas they showed me, about the world and its abundance of character. I will never love a book as much as I love this legendary masterpiece.Luckily, I have read plenty of Pushkin, Lermontov, (of course) Dostoevsky, so on and so forth, so I have become rather familiar with Russian literature and how it is usually structured, specifically its dialogue, and how when it comes to detail in writing from the late 19th century, people wanted detail as it was one of their only forms of entertainment, and so the first big part of the novel consists of a rather lengthy one-sided conversation that would put off many readers who are used to a more streamlined experience but I guarantee if one simply gets through that long monologue, the book doesn’t lose steam and only keeps becoming more investing and interesting. Trust me.The only downside is that there will never be a written work, novella, short-story, graphic novel, whatever it may be, that will ever come close to the satisfaction, intrigue, self-awareness, reality checks, and gripping emotional storytelling that’ll never leave my head that Crime and Punishment has.I suppose that is the tragedy of it. Though, tragedy is inevitable for true and authentic happiness, and so it is that I am elated.

Returning to Crime & Punishment
I was eighteen when I first read Crime & Punishment. It was the end of my freshman year of college and over the course of the last two semesters I had been introduced to a constant stream of new novels, authors and genres in and outside the classroom, accelerating me from an avid reader to a voracious one. Dostoevsky loomed large over a lot of the writers I loved at the time: particularly Hemingway and Kerouac. Crime & Punishment had already long been on my radar as a weighty Russian tome and one of the great works of world literature. So I was surprised by Bantam’s pocket sized volume translated by Constance Garnett, which on scanning the first few pages, had the stiffly sophisticated tone I’d come to expect from 19th century novels and a compulsive readability presented in its breathless opening pages. Plus, it was on sale for something like five bucks, so what the hell.That first reading of Crime & Punishment proved to be one of the most important literary experiences of my life. I read rapturously over the course of a few summer days, carrying the book about in a back pocket, and finished it around 6 am one morning. It seemed to me everything that a really great novel should be: entertaining, thought provoking, beautiful. A year of intro philosophy classes had convinced me I was some kind of original thinker, or at least a conscientious atheist. But Dostoevsky’s take on spiritualism and religion gave me real pause; and despite a year’s worth of railing against organized religion as the bane of all existence, the image of the murderer and prostitute reading the story of Lazarus together proved enormously powerful. In the end Crime & Punishment didn’t convert me or bring me back to any kind of religious doctrine, but it did have a huge impact on the way I thought about fiction and viewed the world – a sensation I’m always looking for in books, but only a small handful have ever successfully accomplished.So reading Crime & Punishment proved to be a pretty good idea, and much to my delight it seemed a fairly universal notion amongst my undergraduate peers. I can’t think of many other books that have been read by so many people I’ve encountered and, maybe more astonishing, were deeply moved by it. Of course, there’s always the stray dissenter. Vladimir Nabokov famously didn’t think much of Dostoevsky, but then, he didn’t like music either, so there’s little accounting for taste.For whatever reason, Dostoevsky started coming up in a lot of recent conversations, and it occurred to me that it had almost been a decade since my first and only read of Crime & Punishment. I’ve become well acquainted with a good deal of Dostoevsky’s subsequent work, along with the writings of his fellow countrymen, so I knew it was vital to pick up the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky and, having become addicted to my Kindle Paperwhite, downloaded the e-book so I could recreate the read-on-the-go experience should the book sweep me up a second time.To be honest, I was a little worried how well Crime & Punishment would stand up ten years later. After all, tastes change, and in the past I have been dismayed by how radically my opinion of a fondly recollected novel can take a turn for the worse on rereading. But from the opening description of Raskolnikov descending from his crappy little apartment into the streets of St. Petersburg I was hooked all over again.But while I found all the major plot points and characters had stuck in my brain through the years, I was surprised how much smaller the novel’s scale seemed; sort of like visiting a house that seemed enormous as a kid but shrunk in scale on visiting as an adult. In his introduction, Richard Pevear explains that Dostoevsky built the novel with the structure of theater in mind. I doubt I would have made this astute observation on my own, and yet it became the unavoidable lens I reread the novel through.Crime & Punishment takes place in a very hermetic universe of small dingy rooms, chance encounters, rapid action, and philosophically loaded dialogue; making it a heavy but never dense reading experience. This philosophical bent tends to be the most common point of complaint amongst critics. Novels with a metaphysical agenda are often populated by flat characters who act as little more than mouthpieces for the author. Rascolnikov, in particular, is much more an idea than a person, whose true crime is his modern intellectual arrogance rather than the murder which derives from his hubris. But Dostoevsky populates his novel with a supporting cast that creates an incredibly rich illustration of 19th century poverty, as well as the existential comedy and despair that would color the coming century. Again, the Pevear introduction relates how Crime & Punishment grew out of an earlier novel, The Drunks, which Dostoevsky had been struggling with. It’s the vestiges of this previous novel that are, for my money, the most fascinating aspects of Crime & Punishment, and reminiscent of another 19th century master, Charles Dickens.Like a Dickens novel, Crime & Punishment contains enormously entertaining murder plot and, with the added philosophical heft, it’s easy to understand why the novel is so appealing to undergrads. The aforementioned Dostoesky hater, Vladimir Nabokov, believed that a serious reader is, in fact, a rereader. For a long time I’ve found myself almost panicked by the overabundance of books I want and feel the need to read, and disregarding a few exceptions which I’ve obsessed over, I have never defined myself as much of a rereader. But this second look at Crime & Punishment has definitely changed how I’ll choose to read in the future. There’s a magic that comes with reading Dostoevsky, and I cannot recommend the experience or reliving the experience enough.

Absolutely amazing
Title: A Masterpiece of Psychological Depth – Crime and PunishmentRating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” is an extraordinary exploration of morality, guilt, and redemption. The gripping narrative follows Raskolnikov, a troubled student who commits murder, leading him into a psychological struggle that delves deep into the human psyche.Dostoevsky’s profound character development and philosophical themes make this novel a timeless classic. The moral dilemmas faced by Raskolnikov are both haunting and thought-provoking, prompting readers to reflect on justice and the human condition.If you’re seeking a compelling and intellectually stimulating read, “Crime and Punishment” is an essential addition to your bookshelf. Highly recommended!

This is possibly the best book I’ve ever read, top three at least. The Translations are seamless, I would say this is a must read for everyone.

ive seen some posts and videos about kafka and dostoevsky for a while now and i could absolutely relate to what theyve written. and i saw a review about this book. it sounded interesting and kind of intrigued me. and even though im really not into reading books this was really worth it. like i love the book <33 definitely gonna buy more similar to this ! also watch bungou stray dogs (although they rlly dont have anything to do w each other, the anime was the first time i heard about dostoevsky and i liked him there. if i hadnt liked him in the anime i wouldnt have ended up reading up the author dostoevsky and his books, biography, etc :D)