Crime and Punishment

This was my first time reading Crime and Punishment. I'd heard about it before, going all the way back to high school and seeing it as an option on my honors English reading list. I was intimidated by the size of the book and the fact that it was Russian made it all the more imposing to me so I skipped it. But I always wondered about the novel throughout the years.Now it's 10 years later and I finally found the conviction within myself to take up this book. And boy am I glad that I did.This is by no means a light, fun read. This is a challenging novel. It's challenging in it's subject matter, in it's ideas, in it's characters and their many complexities, etc. But just as it is challenging, it is also extremely rewarding. In fact, this is the most rewarding novel I've ever read because it's now my personal favorite.While the nature of the story and general tone of the novel is heavy, paranoid, and somber, it isn't devoid of other types of moods. Often times I found myself laughing, admiring, and even loving these characters (and trust me, you'll be surprised at how you're able to empathize with just about every character at one point or another).I cannot praise this enough and I know that several others before me have praised it to death so lastly I will be commenting on the specific translation i read. I read the Sidney Monas translation. I made the decision to read this translation after comparing the first page of the most popular translations available. While this version by Monas doesn't seem to be championed by many, I loved it immensely. The writing is always fluid and varied and there aren't many phrases or descriptions that are repeated over and over like many other writers tend to do. I mean, this book is 500 pages long and it always feels fresh and creative! It's just consistently impressive.Monas also seems to keep the Russian names of characters and locations in place, which I very much appreciated. It is confusing at the start when nicknames, first names, and last names are all used interchangeably to refer to a character, but you spend so much story time going over them anyways, that eventually your brain adapts and gets comfortable reading them. I would recommend making a little bookmark with the common variants of each character's name. That helped me.One gripe I do have with this book, and maybe it's just this particular translation, is the Map of St. Petersburg. For some reason there is a spoiler on the Map. I really don't understand how that was allowed to be published that way but it was. And frankly, I don't think you need the map. At first I would look at the Map, but after Part I, I don't think I looked at it again. And I understood the story perfectly well. In short, don't look at the Map if you don't want something spoiled.In truth, this really wasn't as difficult of a read than I thought it was going to be. When it came to understanding the passages and what is happening and being described, everything was very clear and concise. Where the difficulty (maybe difficulty isn't the right word. Perhaps "challenging" would be better) comes into play is in the ideas that are brought up and that one has to contemplate because many of these ideas bring about debates. Debates that persist even in our times and that may not have a concrete answer. But then that's the point. That is why it remains relevant 155 years later. And that's why it's a master work that is worth reading at least once in your lifetime.Many thanks to Fyodor Dostoyevsky for writing this incredible story and to Sidney Monas for the beautiful translation.

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"Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky is book that discusses the human psyche and moral ambiguity. Set in the 19th-century St. Petersburg, the novel follows Rodion Raskolnikov, a young and poor student who enters into a story of crime and guilt. The book is a fiction novel, and is primarily a psycolgical fiction story.At its core, "Crime and Punishment" is a exploration of morality and conscience. Raskolnikov believes that he is above others, percieving himself as extremely smart. Driven by his thoughts that he is doing the world good, Raskolnikov murders a pawnshop owner, believing it to be for the greater good. However, his crime creates events that destroys his sanity and leads to a internal struggle between his intellect and his conscience. The book brings Raskolnikov to life with strong charactorization, making him a flawed yet strong figure. As Raskolnikov grapples with his guilt and the torment of his actions, the reader is drawn into a narrative that explores the moral consequences of crime and the pursuit of redemption. The book has a huge set of secondary characters who mirror different aspects of the human condition. From the secretive Sonya, and the manipulative Svidrigailov, each character adds layers of depth to the novel, showing the deep connections between emotions and actions. It also creates various other themes through the books various conflicts. Through Raskolnikov's turmoil and crisises, Dostoevsky compares good and evil,internal suffering, and redemption. In conclusion, "Crime and Punishment" is a classic novel that compares the human mind to the human actions. Dostoevsky's story depth makes this novel a must read for anyone interested in reading a historical fiction novel.

Flawed but exquisite. I probably have nothing to say that someone else hasn't said better. But I do want to mention that this particular edition, while a very good translation (in my opinion), is riddled with typos and other errors. It almost cost the book a star. So did some of the long-winded scenes and confusing names and other annoyances.... I was sure it would have to be 4 stars. But that ending and even that Epilogue! Exquisite.

I wish I would have seen who did the translation first, but otherwise very happy with this

It arrived with all pages intact.

Shipped well and timely

Brand new and in perfect condition. This classic was a big hit for my students in the school library. Fast shipping good quality.