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Summary: Is murder ever justifiable?
Review: In "Crime and Punishment", Dostoyevsky poses several questions. Is murder ever justifiable? Can a man think himself exempt from moral law and commit murder because the victim's death will benefit society? Does a human life hold any intrinsic value, or does a person have to prove himself worthy of living? In the end, Dostoyevsky proposes answers to these complex questions, answers rooted in surprisingly simple logic. This novel is a superb rendition of a man's struggles with his demons, his suffering, retribution, punishment and eventual triumph.
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Summary: A masterpiece
Review: Raskoinkov, a student that thinks himself a superman & smarter then everyone else. Is really a lazy, do nothing, want-to be. In Old St. Peterburg, To prove his theory that violence purifies, murders an old women, a money-lender & her sister with a ax. No sooner is the deed done than remorse lays siege to his resolve. What follows is one of the GREATEST psychological studies in world literature. A masterpiece of Insight that calls into question the very nature of good & evil. Some parts of this book may put you to sleep. But, those parts build on the parts that will keep you turning the pages.
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Summary: All Critiques aside....
Review: As Rodion Raskolnikov demarcated humanity in terms of "ordinary" and "extraordinary," humanity can also be generalized in terms of those who empthasized with Rodion, and those who feel this book is simply glorifying the abnormal psychology of killers. The fact of the matter is this story is important for anyone attempting to philosophize upon humanity's darker side; sometimes it takes such an extreme example to raise the right questions. To bind one's opinion of this story by the mere confines of law and order does this story no justice as it would also limit the enlightenment one gets out of it. Especially today, as more young people strive to achieve righteousness through misinfluenced means, this book's importance is founded upon the over-intellectualization of the righteous path, and if any human can dub themselves worthy of taking it. Dostoevsky's unique way of humbling us with such journeys do more than merely increase our capacity for thought, they aide us in our travel to understand even the most outcasted mind, thus increasing our understanding of ourselves. I reccomend this classic piece of literature to anyone, both young and old, free-thinking and close-minded alike. Crime and Punishment is the essential documentation of introspection and the questionable void between cause and effect.
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Summary: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Review: I've always been intimidated by thick Russian novels and if I hadn't been assigned Crime and Punishment in my World Lit class then I may never have got around to reading it. It is a thrilling and breathtaking story, a look into the nature of good and evil, the heart vs the intellect. Taking his cue from western intellectuals, Raskolnikov divides the world into two different types of people, ordinary people and extordinary people. These extordinary people can transcend the law in order to improve mankind and so to prove to himself that he is an extordinary person, Raskolnikov decides to murder a greedy, nasty old pawnbroker. This sets off a chain of anguish and guilt, he hovers between wanting to turn himself in and being terrified of someone discovering his crime. I won't give away the ending to anyone who hasn't read it. It is a great novel about redemption of the soul through suffering and love. It paints a picture of one mans struggle to overcome his natural human compassion with the cold theories of the intellect and what occures when he fails. I recommend Crime and Punishment to anyone who wants to read a great masterpiece.
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Summary: over-rated
Review: This is a mal-shaped book structurally. Raskolnikov suggests to the lawman about mid-way through this long book that he is the killer...and then the book still has hundreds of pages to go! The second half seemed to me a lot of filler. I think THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV a masterpiece, and it is also about a murder. But CRIME AND PUNISHMENT doesn't deserved its classic status. And Nabokov detested Dostoevsky, because he didn't like the idea of characters coming to spiritual awakening through horrendous acts. And, while I think Dostoevsky was a better writer than Nabokov thought he was, that's one of the problems I had with this book: In the end you're supposed to feel uplifted by Raskolnikov's "awakening," but all I could think was, "But the guy murdered two women! He should be drowned in the river he is standing near!"
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Summary: Crime and Punishment
Review: A complete Crime of murder: punishment by the consumption of the guilty man to the point of confession. Throw in a mix of emotions and shifty characters, and you have the highly regarded Dostovesky nove, "Crime and Punishment" Intriguing, but intense. Good leader for War and Peace.
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Summary: I dug it the most Daddy-O
Review: Is it just me, or does it seem that almost everyone who gave this book a really bad review posted with horrible misspellings? I mean what the hell does psuedo intelectual mean? Tourcher instead of torture? Man, get a clue before you criticize. I think some of you people need to go back to Tom Sawyer and start over before you try to hit the heavy stuff.
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Summary: A Daring Look Into A Troubled Soul
Review: Dostoyevsky does it again, well I guess he did it quite a while ago, but this is my first reading. This book is a great look into the soul of a man who though he may be a murderer has a great love and passion for life. The plot held me with every turn of the page and had me questioning what was going on in my own mind several times. It is definitely more focused than Brothers Karamzov and is a more powerful story in some ways. This translation is wonderfully rendered and only seems stilted a couple of times at most. Overall this is truly a great book.
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Summary: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (APT TITLE)
Review: I LOVE CLASSICS, SO I HAD TO READ THIS BOOK. THE STORY LINE ITSELF WAS FINE, BUT DUNYAS WEDDING PLANS WERE AS BORING AS BORING COULD BE. (IM AS DOOMED AS DOOMED CAN BE YOU KNOW IS HOW ED GRIMLEY WOULD PUT IT) RR'S THEORY ON 2 KINDS OF PEOPLE, IS CLEVER BUT FALSE. WATCH OUT FOR TOO MUCH CLEVERNESS IS WHAT THE POLICEMAN TOLD HIM. I LOVED WHEN THE POLICEMAN WAS INTERROGATING RR. RR WAS GETTING FRANTIC AND PANICKY AND SHOUTING! SSSSHHH! THE POLICEMAN IN MOCK HORROR SAYS. WHATEVER WILL WE SAY IF THEY (OTHER POLICEMEN) COME IN HIS OFFICE? (HE WAS PLAYING RR LIKE A VIOLIN! GREAT STUFF) I AM A CYNIC. AT THE END SHE WAS TO WAIT 7 YEARS IN SUPER COLD FREEZING SIBERIA ALL ALONE WHILE HE COOLS HIS HEELS IN PRISON. RIGHT! SHE PROBABLY CAME TO HER SENSES AND DROPPED HIM LIKE A BAD HABIT.
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Summary: It IS a classic
Review: A friend of mine forced me to read this book over the summer (we had a bargain--I would read Dostoyevsky, she would read Richard Mitchell). I read it sporadically, without much interest, not making much progress, until I decided that I must crack down and finish it. And I found that the deeper I got into the book, the more interested I became; and not only interested, but awed by Dostoyevsky's skill. Clear-headed and sensible people who have never felt terrified and arrogant and confused will no doubt find this book pointless, as will those who dislike thinking, but the fact remains that this book is a work of art, which I heartily recommend to all.
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