Crime and Punishment (Abridged)

Rating:
Summary: There are no words to describe its beauty
Review: Just magnificent. The best book ever written. If you haven`t already read it then you miss the deeper travel in a person`s psycology.

Rating:
Summary: read it as you will . . ..
Review: In response to the other reviews (my rating states my opinion of the novel itself eloquently enough): You're all wrong!! Well, you are. Put some more thought into this. He's playing around with the roles here . . . you think he's simply taking a "criminal" and putting him in the front seat, but it's more complex than that . . . far more complex. The "criminal," the "murderer" (these words connote so much, I'd hesitate to use them without quotes, at least here . . .), makes one mistake - but it's not the murder. And if you're reading this on an even more elementary level (and thinking it's about how "murder is wrong", well, go watch some T.V.), then you're probably not reading it at all . . . (and for those of you cosidering this book, well, just don't buy the audio tapes, like these guys . . .). That said . . . Good Book.

Rating:
Summary: I dont know which of the two deserves 4 stars!
Review: My mind, which is capable of appreciating this astounding tale of psychological drama, or the book, that reached the deepest, darkest corners of my mind and entranced me completely.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best novels of all time
Review: In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky presents the reader with an indepth analysis of human nature, social institutions, and law. It is one of the best novels ever written, a definite MUST READ.

Rating:
Summary: Terribly long and monotomous!
Review: This book should be written in one-third of its original size. There is little or no plot to speak of. The words are neither stylistic nor artistically crafted, as compared to Anton Chekhov's short stories. A great disappointment and waste of time sitting through 600 pages of literal tirade. Not recommended for anyone at all!

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly boring and vapid
Review: I expected this book to be an incredible read, a mind-altering study of guilt and conscience and other philosophical issues. Boy was I wrong. This book was just plain boring. At no point was it gripping, at no point did it force me to think, at no point did it introduce any ideas that contained even a hint of originality. The content was no more intelligent and thought-provoking than an episode of "Friends." And the actual structure of the writing read like a second-grader's short story for English class. Maybe it was just the translation, but it was horrible. How many times did I see the combination of letters: "Aach"? That's not a word in English. Nor is it even a common expression. Nor is it the phoenetical spelling of a noise that I've ever heard. Couldn't the translator have come up with a better translation? A very disappointing book...

Rating:
Summary: Stunning, compelling -- it will never let go of you
Review: Add one more voice to the chorus affirming that words cannot be found to give C&P the praise it is due. Robert Louis Stevenson said, to someone who asked he if he had finished it yet, that it had nearly finished him. I felt the same way. How to describe Dostoevsky for someone who has never read him? Imagine if Shakespeare had been a novelist, and cared as much for people as for persons.

Rating:
Summary: .
Review: I don't think too many intelligent readers would take the 1 star review a few back very seriously, but just for clarification, the message of Crime and Punishment is not "killing is bad." And personally I think Crime and Punishment is one of least "boring" books I've ever read, when it comes to dated classical literature. It's intoxicating, entertaining, detailed, big, psychologically complex, thoughtful, aesthetically rich, dramatically appealing, and thoroughly rewarding. Personally, I don't ingest it as a morality tale in the slightest; and any morally-oriented preaching that *is* there can be dismissed easily enough. To me the book is more about understanding oneself as a human being, rather than "killing is bad."

Rating:
Summary: A TOTAL THRILLER TO THE END
Review: I was completely locked into this book and the plot not only thrilled but moved me! It almost took me through like an action packed movie... but it was more than that. It had such strong symbolism and style. What I loved most was how it was told in third person omniscent. By the way it showed and told every characters mood and reactions not to mention feelings just absolutely marveled me. And the paranoia that surrounded the main character, Raskolnikov how he lives with his murderous crime made me fall in love with this novel...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and billiant. My all time favorite novel
Review: Dostoyevsky at his best. The author manages to capture the mind of a killer like no other. Although the book is long I read it in only a couple of weeks because I just couldn't set it down. The story is very riveting. However, the true brilliance is the moral and social issues that Dostoyevsky always includes. He combates rationalism and nihilism and demonstrates the Orthodox Christian ideal in the character of Sophia.