Crime and Punishment (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)

Without a doubt, the best book I've ever read is "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that I myself am being punished for a crime, or maybe I would have liked it anyway, because, after all, it is considered one of the greatest works of literature.Dostoyevsky's life itself makes a great story. He was imprisoned in 1849 for participating in a French utopian socialist group. He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted only after he stood before the firing squad in a mock execution. Talk about a game-changer."Crime and Punishment" tells the story of Raskolnikov, a young university student who comes up with a theory that men are divided into two categories: ordinary and extraordinary. The latter, Napoleon for example, have the right to transgress the law in any way to achieve their objectives. And so Raskolnikov believed he could commit one vile act - rob and murder an old pawnbroker - in order to obtain the money he needed to begin his mission and prove that he was extraordinary.But things didn't work out as planned. His conscience drives him to madness before he can prove his theory. Dostoyevsky paints the picture of a man who will give his last farthing to someone suffering and in need, and yet is still capable of committing the most loathsome criminal act - all for the sake of a theory.I found myself hoping he could get away with it, and of course, I questioned whether that was because of some moral flaw in my part. But in the end, I saw that the only way out for Raskolnikov was to confess and accept his suffering.I think this passage where Porfiry urges Raskolnikov to confess best conveys the essence of the book: "You made up a theory and then were ashamed that it broke down and turned out to be not at all original! It turned out something base, that's true, but you are not hopelessly base. By no means so base! At least you didn't deceive yourself for long, you went straight to the furthest point in one bound.How do I regard you? I regard you as one of those men who would stand and smile at their torturer while he cuts their entrails out, if only they have found faith in God. Find it and you will live. You have long needed a change of air. Suffering, too, is a good thing. Suffer!...I know you don't believe in it - but don't be over-wise; fling yourself straight into life, without deliberation; don't be afraid - the flood will bear you to the bank and set you safe on your feet again."In life, suffering is unavoidable and inevitable. The sooner we accept it, the sooner we can fling ourselves into life and the sooner we can be free...even in prison.Written by David Allan ReevesAuthor of "Running Away From Me"

In my sophomore year of high school, I did a report on Fyodor Dostoyevsky because he seemed an intriguing subject. The next year, I was assigned Crime and Punishment in English class, and was assigned it again by a different teacher the following year. Recently, I decided the time had come to read the novel a third time. The reading of a work three times is an honor I award to very few novels, especially now that I am aware of the sheer amount of worthwhile reads in the world that I could be beginning instead. Unlike most of the works I have read at least thrice (the Harry Potter series, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Hobbit, The Jungle Book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Wind in the Willows, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Secret Garden), Crime and Punishment contains a pervasively grim atmosphere that is nonetheless spiked with comedy and is, if less *entertaining* than these favorite reads of mine, certainly quite as rewarding if not more so.My first taste of Dostoyevsky catapulted him from an unknown author to one of my favorites, which is not an easily accomplished feat by any means. His stories, while intensely wordy and much more driven by conversations and ideas than by quick sequences of action, cannot help but captivate. He has a gift for portraying the grime and pettiness of human existence while not allowing his tone to lapse into cynicism; rather, he presents the grotesque in order to argue for the true and beautiful. The plot is simple: Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student with dangerous theories about an exceptional class of persons to whom the law need not apply, commits the crime of murder and theft and then spends the rest of the book being punished for it psychologically and eventually physically (he is not caught until the very end of the novel). It is not the plot that drives the novel, but the oppressive atmosphere of guilt, concealment, and suffering, together with the remarkable characterization Dostoyevsky provides. One feels genuine repulsion and pity mingled for the clownish, drunken Marmeladov; the overbearing, deluded Luzhin; the hysterical, diseased Katerina Ivanovna; the loathsome, depraved Svidrigaïlov, and of course the mercurial and distracted protagonist Raskolnikov. The good characters, such as Raskolnikov’s mother Pulcheria Alexandrovna, his sister Dounia, and his friend Razumihin, are all marred by their own minor flaws as well; only the ‘pure prostitute’ Sonia emerges (paradoxically) unstained. Jews, Poles, and Germans, the underclasses of St. Petersburg, also populate the tale, and various clerks, constables, and other members of society round out the picture. Certain scenes, such as Katerina Ivanovna’s miserable dinner party and Svridrigaïlov’s assault on Dounia, have stuck with me throughout the years, and the hope-garnished ending provides desperately needed catharsis. Although I believe The Brothers Karamazov to be Dostoyevsky’s finest work, and one of the finest works ever written in the history of literature, I would hold that Crime and Punishment deserves nearly as high esteem. A very firm five stars.While my first knowledge of Dover Publications came from their excellent historical and animal-themed coloring books, I have not been disappointed in their publishing for more advanced ages. Dover Publications always chooses the “standard text” when reprinting a literary classic, and they have wisely selected the Constance Garnett translation, which I find perfectly readable and artful. I do not have any knowledge of the Russian language and thus cannot evaluate translations for accuracy, but Garnett’s is the form in which the greatest Russian literature first came to be known in the English-speaking world, and while apparently other translations have since superseded the Garnett, its historical importance cannot be overlooked. In other respects, such as typesetting, front and back covers, biographical introductory note, and especially the phenomenally low price, I am quite pleased with Dover Publications. The one potential drawback is a lack of scholarly notes, but for this particular reading experience, I would opine that they are not strictly necessary.In theory I would recommend this book to each and every reader, as it has a tremendous lot to offer and a number of universal themes and messages that are indispensable. However, since the diction can be ponderous at times and the length is considerable, in practice I would recommend the work to seasoned readers who are seeking instruction as well as pleasure in their literary consumption.