Crime and Punishment Review
Genre📚
Fiction: Crime/Psychology
Quick Summary🗒
In its essence, Crime and Punishment is a murder mystery story told from the murderer’s point of view. Throughout the 576 pages we see our main character, Raskolnikov, commit a crime and then suffer his own mental punishment. It all culminates into literature’s greatest psychological game of cat and mouse.
Review🤔
This is one hell of a book. The type of story that never lets off the gas, keeping you on your feet with all its twists and turns.
From the setup, Dostoevsky made me feel immensely claustrophobic. The novel’s setting of St. Petersburg during the flaming hot summer months was the main driver of this aura: the inescapable heat, tiny alleyways, spreading illnesses, and cramped rooms stuffed to the brim with filth. This stressful external environment, in combination with the unstable internal environment of Raskolnikov’s mind created an atmosphere of no escape.
An atmosphere which was only intensified after the murder, as I witnessed Raskolnikov spiral down a rabbit hole of nervousness and psychosis when people began to question his involvement. Conversations shared with strangers, friends, family, and even the authorities would devolve into madness. The segments with the police in particular, were relentless. Dialogue which had my eyes glued to every word, wondering how the hell is Raskolnikov going to get out of the situation. Tension so high that I could almost feel the heat radiating from the baking hot offices of St. Petersburg. Dostoevsky uses these restless emotions to write a nearly perfect depiction of anxiety: twisting and turning the story anytime I became comfortable. It’s an indescribable feeling. The feeling of leaning back on my chair to the point where there are only two legs on the ground, and then leaning too far back to where I am falling, but I manage to catch myself at the last second. Believing you are safe, then thinking you are doomed, only to find yourself safe again. That is what reading this novel feels like.
But on top of all the nonstop thrills the story delivers, Crime and Punishment also tells a beautiful story of redemption and finding someone you love. Dostoevsky interweaved a lot of Russian philosophy into the dialogue which expanded the scope of how I interpret the story. It speaks about ideas, whether we should fear them or embrace them. Having read this in my English class, we had 1-2 hour discussions every day, simply analyzing and debating the philosophy in each chapter. It’s a story which goes deeper than any simple Netflix murder documentary, and I can very much understand why it’s considered a classic. I would highly recommend Crime and Punishment to anyone, as I believe it speaks to the inner human curiosity of crime.
Who is this for?🤷♂️🤷♀️
People who are fascinated by the minds of criminals
Anyone interested in psychology or philosophy
People who enjoy stories that have thrill after thrill
Top 3 quotes💬
“Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.”
“If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake. That will be punishment as well as the prison.”
“The question whether the disease gives rise to the crime, or whether the crime from its own peculiar nature is always accompanied by something of the nature of disease, he did not yet feel able to decide.“
Criticism🧐
Really nothing here to complain about, it’s a fantastic story that never lets off the gas.
Reading Difficulty level: 3/5📊
The plot doesn’t contain many time jumps or character perspective changes. The one thing I will say is that since it’s a Russian translation, there are a lot of foreign names and nicknames in the novel to keep track of. It can sometimes get a little confusing, but it’s not too overwhelming.
Book vs Audiobook📖/🎧
Having listened to parts of both the book and audiobook, I would say you could really go either way with this one. The story is not too complicated that you would miss anything listening to it, so I would say just pick whichever platform you prefer.
One note on the audiobook: If you plan on listening to the novel, pick the version read by Anthony Heald. I have been told that the Peter Batchelor version is poorly narrated. Apparently he narrates in a monotone voice and mumbles often.
Final Score out of 10⭐️
9/10 - Great novel. Would read again and recommend to everyone.
