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Summary: The best novel ever written!
Review: I loved this novel. I have never read anything quite so brilliant in my life and I read a lot of books! I recommend this to everyone. A must read for sure.
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Summary: It's a crime to not read this timeless gem!
Review: Here's a book that intimidates the less hard-core reader. It's thick, bulky, and chock full of text. Get past your fear and you'll find a story so human, so real, you'll never forget it!
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Summary: An analysis of the soul
Review: Crime and Punishment was my first exposure to Dostoyevsky and I must say that I am amazed at his writing talent. I became so immersed in this book that I found myself crying at several important points of the book. Dostoyevsky did an incredible job developing the main characters of the book and bringing out their human side. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read...it will be worth it!
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Summary: what a terrible book!
Review: this book seems to have given me a fresh shock. I wanna take it to my grave. and on heaven in case I meet the author I'd like to say to him that you did a wonderful job.
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Summary: SUPERB TRANSLATION
Review: once again pevear and volokhonsky have created a masterpiece out of a masterpiece. beautiful, effortless translation. as for the novel itself, it is not nearly as great as "the brothers karamazov", still, a must read.
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Summary: Thick Plot
Review: I've never read a novel of this magnitude before. It has a really deep and complex plot. The many characters (many of which I cannot even pronounce their names) which helps to thicken the story, were either mysterious or you loved them or loved to hate'em. I didn't think I could read a book like this, but I found it easy to read and get in to. Just make sure you have a dictionary at hand. The list of words I wrote down from this book that I didn't know were quite long. The main character really perplexed me as I tried to figure him out. I didn't know whether to love him or hate him. There were at times some dry parts of the book where too much detail was really unnecessary and makes it hard to get through those pages. This book is about sin, redemption, love, mystery, forgiveness, philosophies, and guilt. I'd recommend it to people who love to read, not really for the novice reader.
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Summary: An Affecting & Entertaining Masterpiece
Review: I read CRIME & PUNISHMENT many years ago in a different translation, and I found it extremely difficult. This translation by Pevear & Volokhonsky not only makes this masterpiece easier to follow, it also restores its energy and humor. The story and characters burst with life, making for a very affecting and entertaining read. It's not at all the "medicine" that many so-called "classics" can be - I enjoyed reading this book.
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Summary: Crime and Punishment
Review: Review of Crime and Punishment By a Colorado reader A pale - faced man stares at a door that marks his destiny. Beads of sweat run down his sunken face. His fate sealed, he nervously looks at the old woman before him, his eyes darting across the room, barley able to hold the cruel stare of the elderly pawnbroker. Heart pounding, he resists the urge to cry out in terror, and run from the shrewd old woman, but his mind is set. He cannot return, he has gone too far to stop now, and must carry out his desperation induced crime. Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment revolves around a poor man struggling to survive in St. Petersburg, Russia. Raskolnikov, the main character, is stricken with both poverty and sickness. It's these determining factors that drive him into murdering a wealthy pawnbroker. Dostoevsky does a masterful job in describing the intense mental anguish that the protagonist goes through both before and after committing the act. He uses symbolism throughout the novel to help further this description of Raskolnikov's suffering, such as the intense fever he suffers that begins just prior the murder, peaks during the act, and continues for days afterwards. This fever also plays a major role in how those characters around him react to him after the crime. Nearly everyone around him is sympathetic towards him, and try to help, but Raskolnikov view himself as being superior to these others, and so rejects any form of charity offered to him. This is another one of Dostoevsky's commentaries on life. He believes that criminals who aren't used to committing crimes act in generally the same manner as Raskolnikov does. They slowly but surely isolate themselves socially, simply because of the fact that all they can think about is the crime itself. This is true of the main character, but in later chapters he tries to correct this after meeting a prostitute that he views to be a victim of situation, much as he seems to view himself. Now of course, this is not a terribly easy book to read, as most of the names are in Russian, and are at times hard to keep track of. Another aspect of the novel, is that at times, it can get rather dry and slow, but with patience it inevitably gets better, and is masterfully written to delve deep into the psychological aspects of punishment that are not as readily visible.
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Summary: A Masterpiece.
Review: I'll start off with some criticism, however, though it doesn't pertain to the actual story itself. I don't like how in 19th century novels authors frequently like to have one character babble for pages upon pages. Dickens is infamous for it, and though there isn't that much of this in Dostoevsky's work (at least in this book) I find it boring when he does partake in this awful style of writing. If it wasn't for the great amount of respect I have for this novel, I would have given it 4 stars as a result. C&P is a deep and philosophical work of literature. Raskolnikov, the centre of the tale, is a striking figure by all accounts, and one of the most extraordinary and complex persons I have ever been introduced to in any novel. He's still debated to this day -- and people continue to write more and more essays centring on his personality and actions. Let's just say there's a lot to say about Rodion Raskolnikov, and the author allows the reader to largely discover him for themselves, rather than to merely tell us what he's like. The whole book can be discussed at great length. As I said, it is very philosophical, and it seems to centre around the concept of nihilism. Raskolnikov has his own ideas, no doubt influenced by the nihilistic tendencies of the 19th century Russian intelligentsia, and these beliefs that he formulated were what compelled him towards a bloody murder near the beginning of the book. From there we are catapulted into a dark and serious psychological thriller (as it is commonly called), where we are forced to explore the psyche of this man against the backdrop of a dreary, dark and depressing St. Petersburg. This is a book to think about. I have my own ideas, of course, just like everybody has. Everyone is free to interpret what Dostoevsky is trying to get across, and to agree or disagree wit him. Read it with care. (I still don't know what Svidraigalov's dreams symbolize.)
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Summary: crime and punishment
Review: this is a book full of amazing charachters
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