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Summary: Certainly Not My Favorite
Review: Crime and Punishment was certainly not my favorite book--there are quite a few that would have that place above it. However, it is, without a doubt, the best book I've ever read. No other book is quite capable of taking a person with a desire (albeit one that was bound to be frustrated) for greatness coupled with an envy for the great figures of history and making them instead happy to live a mediocre life. I'd hesitate to call it a thriller, but it was certainly difficult to put down.
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Summary: Crime and Punishment - in a word pure excellence.
Review: This fantastic thriller penned by the Russian genius Fyodor Dostoevsky is a must read for all avid readers, even those who don't really like thrilers. The langguage as well as being descriptive, really throws the reader in the thickening plot of the novel. It definitely one book you cannot put down!
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Summary: Excellent!
Review: I recently read this book, as my first ever of Dostoevsky, and I must say that i now fully understand why he has been hailed as one of the greatest writers ever. His splendid characteristics, his insanely deep, and by my opinion accurate, psychological observations alone raises this book to new, dizzying heights according to my way of wieving litterature. In addition to this, the story is most inticing, and the intreagues excellently built up. This keeps the reader riveted, and makes this extraordinarily good book very hard to put aside.There's no doubt in my mind: it deserves 5 stars.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: I'd strongly recommend Garnett's version. This is far more intuitive than previous version -- with particular attention to the emotional undertone rather then a literal translation.
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Summary: An immortal giant of a book.
Review: For those not versed in the peculiarities of Russian cultural history in juxtaposition to western European, this book is educative in one great respect: it lays bear the importance in that history of the idea in relation to actions. For those of steely nervous composition Crime and Punishment is an absolute must. For the more mousy, perhaps a little harrowing. Just as it is for the principle protaganist, who declares in the first pages that he feels as though his clothing has been caught in the wheels of a machine and he is being dragged inexorably into it, so it is for the reader. It will definately leave nobody indifferent. In it we are taken for a wrenching roller coaster ride over a complex moral landscape by its hero, Raskolnikov, who sets out to divest himself of what he sees as his own shortcomings by enacting a very simple idea. In the spirit of his pre-revolutionary times he converts confining moral tenets into a simplified mathematics. The equation is simple: if he murders one aged, miscreant and odious moneylender, he may release at least 2 virtuous people from impending or actual misery. No one will regret the passing of the old hag; it would be an almost universal shame should the virtuous not be released. The murder occurs within the first few chapters. Consequently the bulk and substance of the book is concerned with the plight of the hero after he has forced himself to conclude the deed. Will he or won't (turn himself in) he is the fevered question, which accompanies the reader from the completion of the crime up to the resolution. And it is the threads of this gruesome personal battle which provide the fabric of the book. Believe me, you empathic readers will be yearning for both conclusions in turns. It is interesting to note that the crime goes wrong and Raskolnikov murders not just the old hag. The second murder is of an 'innocent'. It is, though, hardly mentioned during the torturous journey of the murderer. The real 'trans-gression', a suitably accurate translation of the Russian word for crime used in the title - 'pre-stuplenie' - is the carrying out of an idea calculated to free the perpetrator from his wretched existence. As the great French philosopher said: nothing presents less of an obstacle than the perfecting of the the theoretical. Beware all ye who would confuse theory for practice. Existentialism is fine for the university student, but putting it into practice can prove intolerably lonesome for all but the psycopath. Psycopaths, by the way - the Napoleons referred to in the book - do not spend their time pontificating over the justifiability of what they do. I have read this book 6 times. In English, Russian, and for some reason even in German. I assume that I shall continue periodically reading it. I have visited the places in St. Petersburg in Russia where everything takes place (they are all real and concur exactly with the text). It has a heavyweight claim to being the greatest novel ever written. In my opinon this is because it functions brilliantly on any and all of its various levels. Whether examined as the patron of the 'psychological' novels, looked at in its historico-political context, or taken as a straight thriller, this book can bearly fail to exite immense empathy and emotion in any keen book reader. Read it!
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Summary: What would Napoleon do if he were in your shoes?
Review: The answer of course is commit murder, stop at nothing, succeed magnificently--unlike you, ya wimps! So stop whining can't you see it's all your fault if you cannot rise from even the most dreadful circumstances to the Napoleonic Ideal! And you call yourself a man... The truth is that in embracing The Ideal, the novel's protagonist, alienates himself from all that is good in him. And winds up paying the price. The novel is a warning to all in dire straits who are tempted by an inflated view of courage and manhood. Therein ruin lies, not glory. Published in 1866,when Freud was 10 years old, and nine years before Nietsche published his first major work, 'Birth of Tragedy' The novel is uncannily prophetic. For Freud, the description of Roskalnikov's dream where he keeps on whipping a white horse who refuses to do his 'will'--Damn! It's hard to believe this was written by a anyone pre-Sigmund.
For Nietsche, ' 0ur spiritual father' (Hitler)-- well, Nietsche would probably turn in his grave at what has been done in his name, but it is the logical result of the Napoleonic megalomaniacal-my-pain-and- genius-gives-me-a-license-to kill-reasoning. Dostoyevsky's warning is universal, but I apologise if I'm making this book sound preachy. It's not, it just has an extremely powerful theme, a wonderful plot--it's one of those "classics" that are page turners instead of slug-alongs, profound instead of sophomoric and. Hm.. I think I'm trying to tell you that I really liked it. This one's a treasure
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Summary: rather difficult
Review: I read this book when I was a high school sophmore, and found it to be one of the most boring books I have ever read. The book was quite difficult, and it became rather confusing at times. Perhaps, this is because I am too young to truely appreciate a novel such as this. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the themes of the book, and the symbolism included.It is a book that can really make you think, and ponder the themes. Overall, it is a well-written book, and well thought out.
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Summary: Existentialism, Sociopathy, and Growing Into Humanity
Review: Second only to "Catcher In the Rye" in my list of all time favorites, this novel could be considered a textbook on the sociopathic mind. Admittedly, after finishing the story, I felt tempted to try and invent my own system of morality... but that would have taken effort. "Crime and Punishment" exeplifies the danger of existentialism. This danger lies in the fact that if each individual were permitted to define his or her own morality, than distinguishing what man is a better man than another would be more an acount of the amount of change, period, that he brings to the world than of the values of "benign" or
"good" change. Although Raskolnikov's actions changed only a handful of lives it is clear that his motives were less driven by the desire for financial gain and more of a product to validate his own existence and his above average intelligence. It is a common fallacy that all sociopaths do what they do in order to gain someting. In fact, the vast majority of psycho-pathic serial killers murder not only for the "thrill" of their actions, but also in order to prove their intellect. "I can get away with this because I am smarter than they are." This is the attitude which Raskolnikov keeps to himself, in a most deft manner, I might add, througout at least two-thirds of the novel. The circumstances which he encounters at the end represent his humbling as a human being. Most non-violent sociopaths do outgrow their anti-social behaviors as they age. In parallel, this humbling of Raskolnikov's personality is an example of emotional, and possibly spiritual growth.
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Summary: Nietzsche and Dostoevsky
Review: Nietzsche, a man who was always first to annihilate other writers and thinkers, bestowed lavish praise on Dostoevsky, "that profound human being." But seemingly contrary to Nietzsche, Crime and Punishment illustrates the fallacies of nihilism. The main character Raskolnikov is obsessed with Nietzsche's "Superman" theory, that he is beyond all morals like great men, a la Napoleon. To prove this, he sets out to murder an old, disgusting pawnbroker who is "past all usefullness and should have died long ago." After he accomplishes the grisly deed the novel illustrates his conflict between his rationalizations and his conscience, and the corresponding madness that results. Finally, Raskolnikov is redeemed by love and faith, evincing the Russian Christianity that pervades Russian literature. He realized that his murder was just the disgusting attempt to prove his superiority, when in reality he wasn't such a man. His rational and nihilistic viewpoints at the beginning allowed him to rationalize the murder. The redemption of faith illustrates the point "If God doesn't exist then everything is permitted." To be fair to Nietzsche, he was looking for life-affirmation after removing all certainty of morality and truth, a near impossible task. He was hardly settling for nihilism, even if some of his work appears to be just that. And his Superman theory was probably more in response to someone like Jesus, who besides annihilating the corrupt values and beliefs of his time, creates something that is superior. Dostoevsky is responding to someone who interprets Nietzsche's writings falsely. On the novel, the writing is absolutely superb and clearly reflects the troubled and frantic state of a madman or someone undergoing physchological trauma. The themes are, of course, profound. A thoroughly brilliant novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Tortured darkness
Review: The basic premise of this novel is well-known, namely that a young Russian law student (Raskolnikov) commits murder. He does this out of pride, vanity, and in order to act on a napoleonic theory of society and history that he develops. "Crime and Punishment" is a very dark novel that mostly deals with criminal psychology, psychology in general, and redemption. One would think that the "punishment" in the title refers to Raskolnikov's self-inflicted psychological torturings from the pangs of guilt for his crime, that he is "accepting his suffering" or "taking up the cross" to use expressions from the novel. However, Raskolnikov never really seems to feel guilty or come to acknowledge his guilt; his tortured state of mind seems rather to be mostly based on an intense questioning of his self-worth in the recognition that he is not destined to succeed like Napoleon. He is intelligent, selfish and vain.
There are no "moments of wild humor" as claimed on the back-cover of my edition! The novel does not really deal with crime and punishment in a legal or even a philosophical sense. Those pre-law students who read the book looking to perhaps gain some insights relevant to their crim law courses in law school will most likely be disappointed in this respect.
I read the translation by Jessie Coulson in Oxford Classics and can recommend it.
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