Crime and Punishment

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Summary: Another Perfect Example of Art Imitating Life
Review: Well, yes, D. did not kill anyone, but himself. In another tour de force, this compulsive player (he has a statue at the Baden Baden Casino) shows that, although all his tortured problems (no money, sickness) he grasped the meaning of life and the perfect way to expose it. Do we all want, at least one day, to be a Raskolkinov, take justice in our hands and avenge everything and everyone? But then, why the remorse? Guilt is more than just repentance: is knowing that you did not have another possibility, and acted in consequence. One of the books that formed the conscience of Man in the XX Century

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Summary: Conscience, Guilt, and Punishment
Review: Dostoevsky takes a look at a poor young man, a student whose morality is wrecked in squalid and stifling conditions. Raskolnikov, who is only 24 when the novel begins, cannot live as he wants to, so he is left to his own thoughts, to unhealthy and endless brooding. He begins to yearn for blood and rationalizes his primordial anger and hatred as some sort of premonition of greatness. And the means to achieving greatness are not alwasy good--after all, did Napoleon lose much sleep over the people who fell victim to his military campaigns? Raskolnikov decides to start with a robbery, but when things do not go according to plan, he commits two murders. In the end, his conscience turns against him, so that he hasn't a moment of peace. He cannot function normally because of his guilt and feels the need, well, almost the right... to be punished.

The novel is a gripping look at a moral catastrophe and all its reprecussions, including guilt and punishment. This is a classic. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: This is a good book. I read it for fun. Perhaps, aside from the storyline, the most significant aspect of Crime and Punishment is how it shows the horrible conditions of living in St. Petersburg of the 19th C. Understanding this, the conditions under which the characters live, is vital to understanding the novel. Fortunately, the novel does a very good job of demonstrating life for Raskolnikov and company. Other than that, others have covered the other point of this book. A final word- it is not terribly hard to read. I was 15 when I read it.

Rating:
Summary: don't be intimidated; just read it!
Review: I've lived some 40+ years successfully avoiding all the lengthy Russian novels because I feared they'd either put me to sleep, or generate headaches. Upon completing Crime and Punishment, given to me by a colleague, I'm really annoyed for depriving myself from enjoying such a literary classic.

Crime and Punishment is, as you would expect, a long-ish and wordy novel. And the character's names, and nicknames, are confusing to me (a non-Russian). But the overall murder story is very absorbing, as are the tangential subplots. This is NOT a murder mystery; the reader knows who committed the crime central to the story. However its deep psychological analysis as to why the crime was committed and how it affects the criminal afterwards is extremely well done (without being preachy).

Crime and Punishment, while somewhat cumbersome, is NOT a difficult read. I heartily recommend those who are fans of popular crime novels (eg, John Grisham novels) should "move up" and give it a try. It's a very rich read. ...and you'll be able to impress your friends on telling them you read it!

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Summary: The story of Man
Review: I am in love with Raskolnikov. Not the man himself, for I am aware that he is fictional. I am in love with the quality of the character. Dostoevsky has created a truly unique, interesting, fascinating, complex, morbid, rational, intelligent, idiotic, and esoteric character, that ranks up there with the best in all of literature. Even though his situation is on the edges of the extreme, he fully inhabits all those qualities that exist in man himself.

Raskolnikov's hypothesis is an example of delicious specious reasoning: "If I am a brilliant man, then I am special and above the laws of societal morals and ethics, and therefore I shall have the right to kill without repercussions". And of course it is doomed to fail (I'm not giving anything away -- the book is after all called "Crime and *Punishment*"). And the way he fails is the most miraculous part. He can't live up to his own inner expectations, which only proves that he is not a brilliant/special man. Awesome!

This book is so high on another level of writing (that combined with the grave disappointment I felt after reading his 'The Idiot') that I am scared to try my hand at other Dostoevsky novels. I mean, how could a man who has achieved this kind of perfection once ever hope to come close again? Probably not a logical summary, but who said human logic was infallible? Not Raskolnikov, I'll tell you that much.

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Summary: my sides hurt.
Review: Dostoyevsky is known for many things, particularly for developing the psycological dynamics of his central characters. This is both wonderful and interesting for the reader. But an over-looked and important Dostoyevskian element that is implemented through out "Crime and Punishment" is humor. This is a funny book- not a comedy by any stretch- but funny never the less. It's not a sardonic, dark humor but rather lively. The book is also a classic- so who are you to refuse?

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Summary: It was kinda psycho
Review: Hi everyone.....I need help I have a book report due and I need to know pages in the book. For part 1,2,3,4,5,6...please e-mail me [e-mail] Thanks

Rating:
Summary: crime and punishment
Review: recommended reading: pursue a reading list of manuscripts read by Dostoevsky for ultimate benefit.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best!
Review: Simply excellent! However, I especially liked the beginning more the end. The character of Roskolnikov is excellent built and described. Can be an excellent case study for psychology students.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: I only bought this book because I was 3 hours early for a tuition class and it was cheapest book in the bookstore, but it's by far one of the best books that I've ever bought.

The story is rather simple - a Russian man robs a woman and he tries to evade the police - but under Dostoyevsky's masterful pen, it gets transformed into a mesmerizing journey into a criminal mind. It also looks at a couple of interesting issues regarding the human brain, crime and punishment.

This book does take a bit of patience to read, and some parts are rather boring and longwinded, but overall, the book will leave you feeling....blown away (not the most likely word to describe a classic I know, but true)

Read it!