Customer Reviews
Brilliant (But depends on which translation you read) - By: Svidrigailov, 09 Nov 2008 
In my opinion this is the greatest novel ever written,in that it is the most complete study of mental anguish & human suffering & redemption.
One caveat is that the only translation worth reading is that by Constance Garnett. It gets a lot of bad press by critics who claim it makes the novel sound very Victorian. I adisagree. I don't know which is the most faithful translation to Dostoevsky original text (I cannot read Russian) but this is so much more superior than the 'modern' translations. My favourite chapter (Part 4 Chapter 1) is totally ruinedin the newer versions. Andin many cases the new translation make the text unwieldy & inelegant.
Read this book, but do yourself a favour & read the Garnett translation.
Deep and relevant - By: Mr. W. M. Klaczynski, 29 Apr 2008 Crime & Punishment beautifully captures moods & moments to guide the reader through the book as though we were truly looking through Roskolnikov's eyes. Dostoyevsky understands the danger that lurksin all of us, & the mind's ability to twist & justify actions & thoughts with the greatest of ease if we are thrown off the righteous path. This is reflected beautifullyin the most extreme of scenarios that Roskolnikov finds himself in. It would be a challenge to pick this book up & not finish reading it.
Somewhat lacking... - By: Simon Kwong, 16 Mar 2008 
Basically a story about guilt & redemption written with absolutely compelling characters & depth. The start is tremendously gripping though it starts to lose pace around the last quarter & meanders somewhat. The reason why I score this lowly is because the ideas placed out are a bit thin on the ground when you look at it objectively (I've read shorter books which have a much wider theme), you can't help but think that it could've been writtenin half the pages & for all the great character'sin place, they fail to live up to there potential, that the story doesn't make enough use of them. It would be great if more actually happened as I felt a lot of what did happen was largely (and ironically) inconsequential. It's a little bit tragic that the main protagonist is a bit, to use the modern term, emo.
An unenjoyable read - By: Mr. E. S. Ford, 07 Mar 2008 
I found this book to be unenjoyable. I could appreciate that it is very well written & would have been very ahead of it's time but also found it to be unnecessarily drawn out & convoluted.
It's claimed that, "The genius of the book is the commentary on many aspects of life" but I think it would be far better if the author could have intertwinned this with an interesting plot.
Full of suspense and intrigue, a wonderful classic - By: rhinoa, 20 Dec 2007 Raskolnikov, Rodion Romanovich sets out one dayin the middle of a fever to kill pawn broker & money lender Alena Ivanovna. He fashions a loop of cloth inside his jacket to hide an axe after hearing her sister Lizaveta will be away one evening & she will be at home alone. Once he gets to her flat, his plans soon seem to come undone. After killing Alena, Lizaveta arrives home earlier than expected & Raskolnikov has forgotten to lock the front door. In the spur of the moment he kills her as well & then flees the scene, taking Alena's purse & some possessions.
Interweaving the story of Raskolnikov is the story of his sister Dunya. She was a governessin a household where the gentleman of the house fellin love with her. His wife arranged for her to be married to clerk Luzhim, Peter Petrovich much to her brothers disgust. Both force her to choose between them &in the meantime her former boss Svidrigaylov, Arkady Ivanovich turns up to cause further trouble for Dunya.
What is really interesting is Raskolinkov's reasons, or lack of, for the murder. He doesn't really appear to have any & he certainly expresses little or no remorse during the course of the book. He refers to Alena as an "old witch" & barely mentions Lizaveta who was such a gentle soul. He gets involved with a prostitute (Sofya Semenovna) & her family who end up being his salvation ultimately.
There are some great cat & mouse games & converations between Raskolinkov & Porfiry Petrovich (the examining magistrate) as the net around Raskolinkov tightens. Do the police know the truth or are they just playing games with him? The book isn't so much about the crime (although it is frequently mentioned) or the punishment of it by law, it's more about suffering. Raskolinkov seems to make things worse for himself by randomly confessing to people & then pretending he was joking to further increase his suffering (perhaps because of his lack of guilt & motive?). It also discusses the nature of crime & his particular belief that some people who are geniuses are above the law (like Napoleon). It also parallels Dostoevsky's own experiences with crime & just escaping being put to death at the last moment to be exiled to Siberia.
It took me a little to get into this novel as it is pretty complicated, luckily my copy had a really handy guide to the Russian names at the back as they kept using different names for the same person. Once I did get stuck in, I fellin love with it. The climax is gripping the edge of your seat to see how it all plays out & I found it nearly impossible to put down. I highly recommend it if you haven't yet found the time for it.
