Crime and Punishment

Rating:
Summary: A classic inner landscape description
Review: This is probably Dostoyevsky's most famous novel, and with good reason. It contains his famous features of intense psychological, philosophical and emotional enquiry, coupled with the presentation of suffering, a multi-layered meaning as well as different ideas along with his own Russian Orthodox Christian viewpoint. However, the book is also more accessible than most others.

One of the main reasons is that it has an actual, tangible plot, and can be seen as a piece of crime fiction. The main storyline is Raskolnikov, a poor student in St Petersburgh, who kills an old lady who is a usurer. He spends most of the novel contemplating, reacting, suffering, running and interacting with others as a direct influence and result of his crime. The characters are also unforgettable as Dostoyevsky presents a very chilling picture of the suffering of many people (for instance the poor) in his contemporary, urban Russia.

There is much philosophy in the book, and on that level, this is a mature enough book for there to be no point in trying to get at "what the meaning is". What is important is just how vividly and strongly the inner world of the characters is portrayed - as an entire landscape of thoughts, desires and interactions.

While I read Crime and Punishment, I thought that one of the key questions is simply "what were the exact reasons for Raskolnikov's crime?". The book presents a very interesting range of possible explanations and it is sorting through them that makes the reading personal. However, one philosophical point that seems explicit enough to mention is Dostoyevsky's reaction to Raskolnikov and his "circle" as examples of a new, "atheist/nihilist" - but really materialist - schools of throught that were new in Russia at the time. I think one of the hundreds of aims of the book for Dostoyevsky was to show what he saw as the inadequacy of materialism in living your life. Whether you agree or disagree, the book presents what happens when certain ideas are pushed to the extreme.

Overall, the book isn't too long but a very challenging read, both intellectually and emotionally. But it's absolutely amazing.

As a final note, I read this in the original Russian so I can't make any statements about this particular edition/translation, or any other.