|
Crime and Punishment (Bantam Classics) (平装)
by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (Translator)
| Category:
Classics, Russian literature, Fiction |
| Market price: ¥ 98.00
MSL price:
¥ 88.00
[ Shop incentives ]
|
| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
This Russian masterpiece is the profound human drama of Raskolnikov, a classic of dramatic literature by one of the greatest novelists of all time. |
| If you want us to help you with the right titles you're looking for, or to make reading recommendations based on your needs, please contact our consultants. |
|
| |
AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 13 items |
|
|
Paul McGrath (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-02 00:00>
I initially approached this book with a great deal of trepidation. I had never read Dostoyevsky, and was concerned that I would get bogged down in some lengthy, mind-numbingly boring, nineteenth-century treatise on the bestial nature of man or something. I am happy to report this is not the case. Instead, and to my delight, it is a smoothly flowing and fascinating story of a young man who succumbs to the most base desire, and the impact this has both psychologically and otherwise on himself and those around him.
To be sure, the book seems wordy in places, but I suspect this has to do with the translation. And what translator in his right mind would be bold enough to edit the great Dostoyevsky? But this is a very minor problem.
What we get with Dostoyevsky is dramatic tension, detailed and believable human characters, and brilliant insight into human nature. Early in the novel our hero meets and has a lengthy conversation with Marmeladov, a drunkard. This conversation is never uninteresting and ultimately becomes pathetic and heartbreaking, but I kept wondering why so much time was spent on it. As I got deeper into the book, I understood why this conversation was so important, and realized that I was in the hands of a master storyteller. This is also indicative of the way in which the story reveals itself. Nothing is hurried. These people speak the way we actually speak to one another in real life, and more importantly, Dostoyevsky is able to flesh out his characters into whole, three-dimensional human beings.
And what a diverse group of characters! Each is fleshed out, each is marvelously complex. Razujmikhin, the talkative, gregarious, good-hearted, insecure and destitute student; Sonia, the tragic child-prostitute, with a sense of rightness in the world; Petrovich, the self-important, self-made man, completely out of touch with his own humanity; Dunia, the honorable, wronged sister: we feel like we know these people because we've met people like them. They fit within our understanding of the way human beings are.
Dostoyevsky also displays great insight into human nature. Svidrigailov, for example, talks of his wife as liking to be offended. "We all like to be offended," he says, "but she in particular loved to be offended." It suddenly struck me how true this is. It gives us a chance to act indignantly, to lash out at our enemies, to gain favor with our allies. I don't believe I've ever seen this thought expressed in literature before. In fact, it never occurred to me in real life! Petrovich, Dunia's suitor, not only expects to be loved, but because of his money, and her destitution, he expects to be adored! To be worshipped! He intentionally sought out a woman from whome he expected to get this, and is comletely flummoxed when she rejects him. His is an unusual character, but completely realized.
There is so much more to talk about: the character of Raskolnikov, which is meticulously and carefully revealed; the sense of isolation which descends on him after committing his crime; the cat and mouse game played on him by the police detective. I could go on and on. I haven't even mentioned the historical and social context in which this takes place. Suffice to say this is a very rich book.
Do not expect it to be a rip-roaring page turner. Sit down, relax, take your time, and savor it. It will be a very rewarding experience. And thank you SL, for recommending it.
|
|
|
Streutker (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-02 00:00>
Dr. Phil: My first guest tonight is a man who has some impulse-control problems.
Raskolnikov: What do you want? When will you leave off tormenting me?
Dr. Phil: Hold it right there. Seems to me you need an attitude adjustment.
(Raskolnikov turns abruptly and stares at the wall.)
Dr. Phil: Says here you murdered an old lady for her money. You murdered her, and then you murdered her sister. What were you thinking?
Raskolnikov: (Making a violent effort to understand what it all means) I murdered myself, not them! It was the Devil that killed them. Enough, enough! I killed a noxious insect of no use to anyone, so what is the object of these senseless sufferings?
Dr. Phil: You need to get a grip on yourself, and you need to take some responsibility and make healthier choices.
(Applause from studio audience.)
Raskolnikov: (Breathing heavily, his upper lip twitching.) My choice was to be a great man dedicated to improving the lot of humanity. The vast mass of mankind is mere material, and only exists in order by some mysterious process to bring into the world at last one man out of a thousand with a spark of independence.
Dr. Phil: Let's talk about the independence thing, since you brought it up. You're still receiving money from your mother, isn't that right? And you have a college degree but no job? And recently you've embarked on a life of crime?
Raskolnikov: The extraordinary man has the right to find in his own conscience a sanction for murder, if it is essential to the practical fulfillment of his idea. Our rulers destroy men by millions themselves and look on it as a virtue. They are knaves and scoundrels.
Dr. Phil: Ho ho, well I'm not an expert on politics, but don't you think you have enough problems of your own to keep us busy here? I understand you're in love with a prostitute?
Raskolnikov: Sonia is a woman of the utmost purity whom I love with a Christ-like intensity that drives me to torment and humiliate her.
Dr. Phil: Be honest with me now. Don't you think she'd prefer a relationship in which two healthy people come together because they complement each other on an equal footing of respect and love?
(Applause from studio audience.)
Raskolnikov: (Grinds his teeth.) A dull animal rage boils within me.
Dr. Phil: We need to extinguish these self-defeating behavior patterns of yours.
Raskolnikov: Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart.
Dr. Phil: I one-hundred percent disagree. You can do better than that. Now I understand Sonia can't be here tonight because she's ministering to the needs of plague victims, but once you get out of prison for those murders, supposing this Sonia's still waiting for you, what do you think
you'll have to do to repair the damage you've already done to the relationship?
Raskolnikov: My mind is clouded and I am almost unconscious of my body.
Dr. Phil: I'm sending you to the green room to do some figuring.
Raskolnikov: Why must you persecute me with kindness, when I would rather boil over with a rapturous agony. (Laughs insanely.) Perhaps I am really mad, and all this happens only in my imagination.
Dr. Phil: Nope, you ain't getting you off the hook that easy. Fact is, you are accountable for your actions. What I'm asking you to do is take responsibility. Are you willing to give that a try?
Raskolnikov: (Bows down to kiss the earth.) Good God, man is a vile creature.
Dr. Phil: Do we have a deal or not?
Raskolnikov: I could strangle you at this moment. Why must you torture me? I feel a physical hatred for you, cannot bear you near me, and am becoming convinced that you are the most aggravating bully on the face of the Earth.
Dr. Phil: You see, now we're getting somewhere. Pain, once it's acknowledged, can be a powerful motivator.
Raskolnikov: Be silent, I beg of you. (Shuddering nervously, a malignant expression in his black eyes.) I am a louse, a wretch, a fool.
Dr. Phil: It's time for you to identify and confront the behaviors that are making you unhappy. I always tell people, you don't need a diploma to hose down a mule.
(Standing ovation from studio audience.)
Raskolnikov: I feel sublimely indifferent to your opinion. (Walks toward the exit.) No, I retract everything I have said, your words make perfect sense, you are a seer, a god. (Bounding out of the studio, his voice carrying from afar.) If only I had met you before I became an axe
murderer, perhaps I would now be among the saints.
Dr. Phil: Oh boy.
(Raskolnikov returns after a tumultuous inner struggle, pushing his way through a dense crowd of peasants.)
Dr. Phil: We're going to take a break now.
Raskolnikov: (Strikes Dr. Phil repeatedly on the head with the blunt side of an axe, then leaves overcome with remorse.)
|
|
|
Asphlex (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-02 00:00>
You know, for years I avoided Dostoevsky. What had I heard about this guy, this looney, Christian fanatic that some pompous jerk in a university somewhere anonymous proclaimed as, "The greatest author - ever"? Hell, I'm an American and we got our pride, right?
So everything I knew about Dostoevsky is that he wrote long books that dissect every minute detail of every character, no matter how small. Sounds dull, right?
But this book (and all the others I have thus far read: The Brothers Karamozov, Notes From Underground, The Idiot, The Eternal Husband--the list goes on, but I'll spare you) is formed by the plot, by the actions and activities of its so dissected characters. Crime and Punishment is the rare book when we, the reader, can truly understand the character. We see the germ of a thought forming and how this affects Raskolikov, how he acts on it and the consequences for him personally, both physically and, moreso, emotionally. Dostoevsky had initially planned this novel as a shorter work (perhaps half its length), a chronicle of the psychological ramifications of a crime. He succeeded with this probably better than he had set out to do (though of this I can't be sure--I've heard Fyodor was a tremendously arrogant guy). So here, take this, pick it up, buy it right now. It is not some lofty, unaccessable work of "high art" (although it is a work of art), but a slam-bang, thrilling, action - packed study of a crazy guy getting crazier until he finally gets sane, understanding himself, what he's done and why. Also, the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is wonderful, far more lucid than the still good but dated version by Constance Garnett.
|
|
|
Morse (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-02 00:00>
Many of the "classic novels" I have read were originally written in English, and therefore forego translation in modern bindings. Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, although written in the latter half of the 19th century, holds up well to the conversion from the original Russian to English.
Rodion Raskolikov is a student, an author, an intellectual. Like countless others in Russia at the time, he is also very poor. His empassioned mind imagines that a local woman, a pawnbroker is evil, a parasite, for taking the valued trinkets of her neighbors and paying them a pittance in return, and for holding promisary notes over their heads. His rage turns to murder, justifying his actions later on as doing a greater good for many by taking the life of this one person. However, his crime is two-fold, as he is discovered by the woman's sister, still with the murder weapon in his hands, and in a moment of terrified frenzy, murders her as well.
The bulk of this novel, exquisitly written, is the slow realization of Raskolnikov that his crime was just that, a crime, no matter how good his intent. Raskolnikov struggles with the guilt of his actions, even as he time and again proves his worthiness as a person in his actions regarding others, giving up his last bit of money to help another less fortunate than himself, attending to a dying man in the streets, trying to secure a good future for his sister, with a worthy man. Raskolnikov, as the reader discovers, is a good and decent man.
The underlying message of this book seems to be that even a man of conscience cannot commit an unconscienable act without repurcussion, without 'punishment', and that no matter how justified you think you may be in your actions, no matter how many good deeds you may do, with conscience there is always a higher authority to answer to, that of your own mind, and what you can or cannot live with.
Dostoevsky had been described to me as dry, turgid reading. I found it to be nothing of the sort. The story never drags on or belabours a point without logic and qualification. The characters, although the focus of the story is Raskolnikov, are all well realized, and developed.
The story itself remains interesting and engaging throughout every page, with a well crafted conundrum once you reach the epilogue, and leaves the reader, at least this one, with a desire to read more about this man, beyond the final words of the book.
|
|
|
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-02 00:00>
Set in Russia in the midst of its troubled transition to the modern age, this classic novel is the profound human drama of Raskolnikov, a sensitive intellectual driven by poverty and the belief of his exemption from moral law. Through his unforgettable gallery of characters, Dostoyevsky provides a provocative look at the human motivations of obsession and possession with unflinching philosophical and moral insight. A masterpiece of dramatic literature by one of the greatest novelist of all time. Crime and Punishment is the story of a murder committed on principle, of a killer who wishes by his action to set himself outside and above society. A novel of great physical and psychological tension, pervaded by Dostoevsky's sinister evocation of St Petersburg, it also has moments of wild humour. Dostoevsky's own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian idea of salvation through suffering. |
|
|
Jerry Amoury (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
This is the second book I've read by Dostoyevsky, the other being The Brothers Karamazov, and I must say that both books ultimately come to the same conclusion. Both Alyosha and Raskolnikov give the final words to their stories. True, these two characters are very different from each other with Alyosha representing pure, unfettered faith in God and Raskolnikov giving a voice to the young, intellectially rich but spiritually confused community that was ever growing in power and influence in 19th century Russia.
However, I found it very interesting that both characters come to basically the same conclusion: Life is worthy of praise and intellect can't be counted on to provide all of the answers to existence. Raskolnikov's epiphany in the very end of the story, much like Alyosha's ending monologue mirror the same conclusion that Solomon reaches in the last chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes. Love of life and God are the only things that ultimately matter.
I'm certainly not saying that Raskolnikov became a religious person in the end but he certainly did rise above his dreary, disheartening doctrine of dry intellectual self-rationalization. Is Dostoyevsky stating his agreement with Solomon in these two great works? Just a thought.
For the record, this was a wonderful book. The characters, especially those who are in conflict with Raskolnikov, are tricky, clever and intriguing. I really enjoyed this.
|
|
|
Jeremy Mai (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
Dostoevsky, with his book Crime and Punishment, unknowingly influenced every great writer since. There are many books that stay with a person, days or weeks after reading them, but Crime and Punishment is one of the few that live on forever. After reading the book, my eyes have been opened to the light of the human soul. Raskolnikov, the central character, is an unmotivated, destitute man. He is symbolic of the so called "dirt", that the world tries so desperately to rid. The novels plot is tight as they come, but it is Dostoevsky's supreme insight and reality into the mind of a killer, Raskolnikov, that makes this novel a testament to genius. Some may read this novel to be "well-read", I say read this novel to gain the foothold to the bottom of your own soul. It will help you gain the realization of self, with a better understanding of the society that can bring men down and subsequently lift them up. I will not give away the ending, but read the book not for the ending, but for the journey that it takes you through, the journey into hell.
|
|
|
Matthew Yau (MSL quote) , USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
Hailed as one of the greatest novels ever written in all times, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment tells the tale of an ex-law student's meticulous, calculated murder of a pawnbroker woman and his showing no remorse for his atrocious crime. In this particularly vivid translation by David McDuff, the words "morbid" and "rabid fury" appear at least 5 times, respectively throughout the book. Such stylistic choices invariably set the mood. The dark and morbid prose ominously sets the foreboding tone of the novel as though the act of murder is indeed a preordained announcement of fate noted by Raskolnikov from the beginning.
The murder occurred at the very beginning of the book and proceeded which was Raskolnikov's meticulous planning and "rehearsal" of the perfect crime. He would paid a visit to the pawnbroker, made careful notice of the setup of her apartment, listened for the pitch of the notched key she used to unlock the chest, and sewed a piece of cloth inside his waistcoat to hold the axe. Whether the crime was destitute-driven, the origin of his action could be diffuse and was somehow associated with certain morbid sensations. Indeed Raskolnikov subsequently conferred on his theory about the psychological state of a criminal's mind throughout the entire process of committing the crime. In his audacious "ordinary vs. extraordinary" statement, the latter could commit the most atrocious crime to whom law did not apply. To Raskolnikov, the morbid theory justified the act of committing atrocious acts upon morally corrupt individuals (the loutish, loathsome, filthy old moneylender woman per se) for the benefit of society.
The rest (five-sixths) of the book dealt with Raskolnikov's psychological aftermath of his crime-the intermittent moments of remorse, the excruciating physical suffering (seized with fear that he might give away his murder in his delirium), the howling of his own conscience, and the to-confess-or-not-to-confess struggle. Indeed Raskolnikov's own qualms of conscience had given him away-that investigator Porfiry infallibly identified Raskolnikov as the murderer by employing psychological tactics to play with Raskolnikov's mind. Porfiry contemplated that no less cruel was the punishment from one's own conscience. It was the formidable suffering that led Porfiry to purposely send an artisan to the street and randomly accused Raskolnikov of murder, to make him panic. That's why he wouldn't worry about arresting him imminently.
An interesting notion that kept repeating throughout the novel was redemption. Raskolnikov might have found his redemption through Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute who prayed and read the bible. But Sonya herself was asking for mercy and redemption for her own sin to which Raskolnikov deemed as moral suicide. Sonya's father Marmeladov in his deathbed asked for forgiveness and died in Sonya's arms. Svidrigailov, the landowner in whose home Raskolnikov's sister Dunya was ill-treated, offered to cover the cost of Katerina's (Sonya's stepmother) funeral and endowed each of the children with 1500 roubles to be paid on their maturity. In a sense, Svidrigailov hoped to find redemption of his sin (the killing of his wife and servant) through a good deed.
Not until in Siberia did Raskolnikov truly begin his repentance. One would be mistaken to think Raskolnikov had felt remorse for his crime when he confessed to Sonya. At that point all he did was nothing but recounting the whole murdering event, from the rehearsal, the timing, and the actual murder from which he was emotionally detached. He simply wanted to make the dare and thus never availed himself of the pawnbroker's treasures. It was the Devil who killed her, he claimed. It was the kind of theory; the sort of argument that said a single villainous act was allowable if the central aim was good. Whether he truly found redemption from his depravity and perversity would be left to readers' judgment.
A gloomy, melancholy, and taut air hovered above the entire novel and the language of which could become overwhelming and awkward at times. The plot itself was not so much suspenseful as the most jolting event took place in the beginning. What really gripped my mind were the conflicting emotions of fear, guilt, remorse, and courage. Whenever he was haunted, Raskolnikov would search his memory for some hints he might inadvertently gave away evidence of his crime. You might question how Dostoyevsky could penetrate the mind of a murderer so thoroughly and verbalize those freaky delirious thoughts. Every single character in the novel exerted some sense of agitation which, again, permeated throughout the book. The persistent destitute chased after Sonya's stepmother who already suffered from tuberculosis and hacked up blood. The children starved for days and were forced to perform street dance and begged for money. The inebriated men consumed huge amount of alcohol and paid numerous visits to brothels and indulged in debauchery. The most repugnant of all was Pyotr (Luzhin) who took advantage of women's glooming poverty and wielded the constant reproach over them that he had done a favor, making them forever indebted to him. He would manipulate in hope that Dunya and her mother would fall out with Raskolnikov out of his slanderous remarks. His would slyly slip a 100-rouble note into Sonya's pocket, falsely accused her stealing the money among a ghastly audience, and hopefully made her feel indebted to him.
Crime and Punishment is not an easy book to read. You will be rewarded with a sense of fulfillment that is so promising when you manage to finish. No sooner when you open the book than it provokes your mind. The whole novel is about morbidity that gives rise of a serious crime. That means you have to persevere with the psychotic nature of a murderer. It is impossible to do justice of all the implications and historical meaning underlying in this book with just a few paragraphs. Do read it for yourself. 5.0 stars.
|
|
|
Penelope Schmitt (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
When I was a literature student in college, Ray Malbone, the professor who taught the English Novel said to us on the first day of class "You are here to save your souls." What he meant was, that great novelists are always aiming to persuade you to enter into and adopt their worldview. Dostoevsky was literally out to 'save the soul' of Russia from the corruption of alien thinking that had invaded her intellectual life and dragged her people away from simple orthodoxy.
One generally reads this novel as a young person, when one is, like Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, experimenting with extreme ideas. Don't be even momentarily deceived by all the excursions into Neitsche - like ideas of freedom from restraint. Instead, recognize that Dostoevsky was not just a religious conservative but an outright reactionary, and you won't lose your way in any of the tangled thoughts and specious arguments that tangle young Rodya's literally and figuratively fever - tortured brain. Make no mistake about it, Rodya has sinned against God and his neighbor, and he must be 'born again' to get out of the dreadful mess he's wandered into.
So what makes this novel not a tract that would bore us, but a deeply moving psychic journey that draws us with its tension and distress?
First, this isn't really a story about what a murderer is like. For that, go and read "The Devils" or "The Brothers Karamazov" in which you will see the disgusting and horrifying spectacles of lost souls working out their foul destinies. Rodion is NOT like a murderer. That is the most striking thing about him. Indeed, almost any reader will admit to having identified with him and feeling great sympathy for his anguish at almost all times during the novel. He deeply loves his mother and sister. We learn that he has done heroic actions in saving children from a fire. He finds himself again and again unable to restrain impulses of the deepest generosity - saving an abandoned and drunken waif from a predatory man, listening with compassion to a drunkard, carrying that same drunkard home when he is broken and dying, emptying his pockets to the last kopeck to help his family, treating the man's young, prostituted daughter with respect and honor. To Dostoevsky, Rodya represents the finest among young Russian intellectuals.
What happens to him then? He becomes possessed or obsessed with those French - German ideas that have invaded the motherland. It's not so much that he THINKS his way to this murder, as that the depraved philosophies of the west get into him like a bacterium or a virus and possess his will, until he is compelled to carry out an action he knows beforehand (as he realizes afterward) will make him know that he is 'no better than a louse.'
The true greatness of the novel is in Dostoevsky's astonishingly acute observation of every thought, grimace, and piece of behavior produced by Raskolnikov when he is in this sick state of mind and soul. Hard to remember that the novel was written well before modern psychiatric theory was propounded - so precisely does Dostoevsky distinguish each outward and visible sign of the unconscious drive toward truth, confession, and atonement that possesses Raskolnikov's whole being the moment the compulsion to do murder has its denouement in ghastly action.
I give this novel four stars not because it isn't great - it is - but because Dostoevsky went on to write far greater things. This is best read first among Dostoevsky's novels, because later ones are darker and more difficult to decipher. Readers won't be a bit lost in this straightforward wtory, as long as they hold fast to the knowledge that Christianity - specifically Russian Orthodox Christianity as opposed to Roman Catholicism--is where Dostoevsky keeps his moral center firmly fixed.
|
|
|
lazza (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
I've lived some 40+ years successfully avoiding all the lengthy Russian novels because I feared they'd either put me to sleep, or generate headaches. Upon completing Crime and Punishment, given to me by a colleague, I'm really annoyed for depriving myself from enjoying such a literary classic.
Crime and Punishment is, as you would expect, a long-ish and wordy novel. And the character's names, and nicknames, are confusing to me (a non-Russian). But the overall murder story is very absorbing, as are the tangential subplots. This is NOT a murder mystery; the reader knows who committed the crime central to the story. However its deep psychological analysis as to why the crime was committed and how it affects the criminal afterwards is extremely well done (without being preachy).
Crime and Punishment, while somewhat cumbersome, is NOT a difficult read. I heartily recommend those who are fans of popular crime novels (eg, John Grisham novels) should "move up" and give it a try. It's a very rich read. ...and you'll be able to impress your friends on telling them you read it!
|
|
|
|
1 2 | Total 2 pages 13 items |
|
|
|
|
|
|
