About this title: This 1866 novel is Dostoevsky's great fictional study of the criminal mind, in the character of the student Raskolnikov, who murders an aged pawnbroker. Initially, Raskolnikov believes that the killing was entirely justified, but as the novel proceeds he becomes tortured by his guilt, and begins to question all his most passionately held beliefs. Eventually, while the wily police inspector Porfiry Petrovich simply waits, Raskolnikov--prompted by Sonia, a prostitute who is devoted to him--breaks down and confesses. Despite its bleak subject matter, the novel holds out the possibility of ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Classics
Date Published: 1999-02-01
ISBN-13:9780451527233ISBN:0451527232
Description: Very Good. Mass market paperback. Light general wear. Underlining in only a couple of spots first few pages. Owner marks inside. Otherwise clean, tight, straight, unmarked. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Signet Classics
Date Published: 1968
ISBN-13:9780451523358ISBN:0451523350
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. wearing to front cover and edges-all inside pages look nice and clean. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 544 p. Washington Square Enriched Classic. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1952
ISBN-13:9780140440232ISBN:0140440232
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Bantam Classic & Loveswept, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780553211757ISBN:0553211757
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1952
ISBN-13:9780140440232ISBN:0140440232
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Classic, Toronto, ON, Canada
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780451519955ISBN:0451519957
Description: Good. 0451519957 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
Binding: Perfect Bound Paper
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1952
ISBN-13:9780140440232ISBN:0140440232
Description: Good + Mass Market Paperback. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Moderate to heavy wear. Pencil notes on FEP and inside wraps. (Store Display-GF/Classics) read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Bantam Classics
Date Published: 1984
ISBN-13:9780553211757ISBN:0553211757
Description: Acceptable. Overall below average used book. May have highlighting, underlining, notes, price sticker on cover, or be an ex-library book. read more
"lovers of russian literature owe a debt of gratitude to the dynamic husband and wife duo of richard pevear and larissa volokhonsky. this couple has translated dozens of great russian works to english paying special attention to preserve the religious and cultural traditions that many other translators gloss over.
one thing that i wish they would've included was the dramatis personae, which is found in their translations of _anna karenina_ and other works. the russian diminutives and patronymics inherent in the russian language can get confusing at times. one character may be referenced with as many as five or six names.
now that i've immersed myself in pevear and volokhonsky's translations, i am becoming more adept at keeping track of the names.
"Crime and Punishment is a didactic novel which superbly dramatizes Doestoevsky's view of sin, guilt and punishment. I decided to reread it because I was intrigued by a quote read recently of a statement by one of the characters I'd forgotten about (I read it over 25 years ago), Svidrigailov. He's speaking of the wages of sin, noting that, " . . . and one is always sad all the time!" This struck me as very insightful and ultimately hopeful. The temptation to do wrong always makes sin appear exciting and empowering. That's an illusion, but this illusion implies that something truly is exciting and empowering to which the illusion is blinding one. Svidrigailov's tragedy is that he knows this, but still allows himself to be enthralled by the illusion -- thus the profound sadness.
7/28/09 -- I finished Crime and Punishment, and am now eager to continue with The Idiot. As noted above, I read it with a particular focus on Svidrigailov. Ayn Rand wrote, in The Romantic Manifesto, that reading Dostoevsky is like visiting a chamber of horrors, but with a strong guide. Svidrigailov himself is such a guide to his own evil and depravity, and reveals fascinating insights into the mystery of iniquity. I hardly remembered him from my first reading, and this time he overshadowed everyone else."
"I confess my crime that I never actually finished this book. For some odd reason, I got fascinated by Nietzsche in my first year, and that led to Dostoevsky. Basically, I just found the book terribly boring and deleterious (Dostoevsky loves this word doesn't he?) and I couldn't care any less about the main character. And I knew exactly how the book was going to end, so I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I don't find his reasoning justifiable and the conclusion concerning atheism and rationality is just abhorrent. Absolutely hate the idea we need an all-powerful man in the sky to have a sense of right or wrong. I think that's a very immature argument that I wouldn't even waste my time debating. But Christian fundies will love it, they sure will."
"This novel is at once honest and complex, disenchanting and sympathetic! It carries you away to Russia, St. Petersburg to meet a defunct college student who struggles with the thin line between natural morality and that imposed on human-kind through religion and society. The streets and man made structures of st. Petersburg are used to reflect the decisions and ideas put forth in the novel and by the charicture Raskolnikov. Excellent reading!"
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