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Title: Crime and Punishment
ISBN: 0679734503
Author:
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Publicate Date: 1993-03-02
Publish: 1993-03-02
List Price: $15.95
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.91
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $7.18
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.85
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1: A true masterpiece
When I first opened this book I was afraid, afraid because of how big a classic it is, because I'd never read Dostoevsky before and because there was the faint possibility of me not liking it.
All my trepidation was unjustified, on this wonderfully conceived masterpiece, Dostoevsky shows how great a storyteller he is, building a wide range of characters that are both complex and real, displaying great insight into human nature and meticulously developing and carrying the plot to its climax.
But it's not perfect, but, then again, nothing is, the mostly lengthy and wordy dialogs feel more like a collection of monologues, than, well, dialogs, which is, although Dostoevsky manages to keep a constant tension to the bulk of them, a little irritating and unrealistic.
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2: Awesome Insight into the mind and heart of a criminal
This is an awesome book! It is not an easy read, but it rewards close reading. It's about a struggling Russian college student named Raskolnikov, who decides to kill a certain old moneylender (and a nearby witness) just to see if he can get away with it, and also to take her valuables so that he can cash them in at a later time.
But he is haunted by feelings of guilt and paranoia. His faithful friends and family are unaware of his heinous crimes. They shower the sickly Raskolnikov with unconditional love and acceptance, and it makes him even sicker with guilt. He can hardly keep from discussing the crimes with others, and it rouses the suspicions of the police.
The book is more or less a commentary on Psalm 32, with its timeless expression of guilt and release. It is also a commentary on the Lazarus story of John chapter 11 from the New Testament.
The book puts you inside the mind and heart of a criminal, and it will stay with you long after the last page is read. One of the greatest books of all time.
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3: Masterful work, worthy of every accolade it's received, and worthy of accolades it has yet to receive....
So let me ask a question in a primitive, modern way...
Is this damn thing any good? Uh, yeah.
Fyodor's novel is called one of the greatest ever written for a reason. It is a masterful work, filled with suspense, fascinating characters, great atmosphere, intelligent dialogue, twists and turns, and a great, satisfying ending. It is a true cerebral novel, one that really emulates Dostoyevsky's outlook on life and art itself. Raskolnikov is one of the most fascinating, well known characters in all of literature, and even to this day, he is still talked about and discussed. This book, along with Notes from the Underground, are my favorite Dostoyevsky novels.
I also love this book because it shreds the idea of Nietzsche's "superman" ideal. Many have grossly misinterpreted Dostoyevsky's attitude towards Raskolnikov. Some make the argument that he is a model of the Nietzschian superman. Raskolnikov certainly acts like the "superman", thinking that since he has a superior intellect that that entitles him to, essentially, shred off the chains of the morality that governs others, and that he is free to do what he wishes, as the laws of "lesser men" don't apply to him. Fyodor, however, does not agree with this and shows that it is a false assumption that intelligent people make when they believe they are superior to anyone. We can argue the wider point that the Nietzschian superman isn't a superman at all, but an arrogant, deluded man who puts himself above everyone because he believes he is superior to everyone. Raskolnikov is exactly like this, until reality and Sonia make him realise that he isn't the Superman at all, just another human being, and a deeply human one at that. I believe many people who interpret Dostoyevsky as "pro-Superman" (in the Nietzsche sense, not the Marvel Comics one) are simply putting their own personal beliefs on Dostoyevsky's prose, and are not looking at the novel with clear and thoughtful eyes.
This is a wonderful novel, one of the greatest ever written, and one that can be revisited again and again.
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4: One of my favorites
I don't think any book creates the inner tension like this one. This and Brothers Karamzov are must reads of FD.
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5: Crime and Punishment
What can I say that hasn't been said already?
This is probably the best fictional study of the effects of guilt and radical ideas on a troubled mind. The prose is flowing, and it's not hard to see why Dostoevsky considered his novels "poems".
Dostoevsky's works in general are marred by a flaw I prefer to ignore as much as I can, and in this novel it is hardly present. Dostoesky's politics are odious, his nationalism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Polish sentiments absolutely ruined a section of The Brothers Karamazov for me and in The Gambler I felt their effect dramatically. They only crop up once in Crime and Punishment, that is when (plot spoiler coming soon) Svidrigailov is about to shoot himself, when Dostoevsky describes the Jewish guard as having "that sour look common to all members of that tribe", or something very close to those words.
All in all, I feel that Dostoevsky's politics can be excused, and prefer to focus on the positive attributes of his writing. There are many, and it isn't difficult.
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