Crime and Punishment is by truth the best book ever written. It talks about Raskolnikov, a foreign student troubled by money woes who commits a heinous crime. Then he gets sick of himself and has all of that guilt in his heart and can't let go of it.--Submitted by Laura
This book was written by Fyodor Dostoevsky to help outline the life of a young man struggling with insanity. It is powerful and moving as he takes you into the psyche and behaviour of one of the most deranged characters of any fictional tale.--Submitted by Matthew Stankowicz
Does madness turn a man into a criminal? or does crime turn a criminal mad?--Submitted by Craig Fleming
This is an indisputable classic, with insight into the lives of poverty stricken Russians during the late 19th century. Although on the surface it appears to be a nothing more than a stretched out story line, the depth of psychological premises and the existentialist nature of the novel create a picture of true suffering and enable the reader to question the basic moralities of both historical and modern cultures. With continuing fatalities and guilt stricken chapters, Crime and Punishment brings forth an autobiographical aspect of Fyodor Dostoevsky and allows for the reader to gain insight and learn to question the systems of society.--Submitted by morgs
This novel is a psychological account of a man steeped in poverty. The biggest question is--is it the poverty that leads him to kill? Or is he just a man who believes that one can choose to be like Napoleon?; to take what they want and not feel remorse? This 19th Century classic asks fundamental questions about humanity, and gets you about as close to the answers as you may get.--Submitted by Kate O'Reilly
Crime and Punishment is a psychological study of a man who explored the limits of crime. Dostoevsky shows what really happens when a man commits a crime. Theorizing and justifying crime and intentions does not satisfy the human soul. The soul has its own way of working and Dostoevsky shows that starkly, with utter honesty. It is a profound study and at the end you realize, learn deeply about the human soul of what morality psychologically means, what crime means at the root. It is an action story and a psychological story integrated and it is a thriller and deeply intellectual at the same time. Read it. It is a book you can't but read with total attention. It is about the human soul and it concerns us all. Dostoevsky is a master story teller.--Submitted by Narendra Vellanki
St. Petersburg, 1866. An ex-student, currently out of a job and living in a sickly-yellow coloured penthouse in total squalor, is having issues with an old pawnbroker down the street. He suddenly decides to play God and pass ultimate judgement of right and wrong, and having determined the pawnbroker's lifetime worth of guilt, he hunts her down. Thus begins the story of Rodion Raskolnikov, his friends, and his enemies as he faces the aftermath of his decisions and undergoes an epic transformation.--Submitted by MPL
Crime And Punishment is the story of a poverty stricken young man who dreams that by killing an old woman and stealing her wealth he can save himself and many other poor souls from utter poverty. But in the aftermath of the actual murder, the story takes an unexpected twist. He doesn't get anything valuable from the old woman to become rich. He becomes psychic. The very thought of the crime shatters his personality. He very cleverly tries to evade the law. But at the end he is caught hold of by the police officer. The depiction of the protagonist's inner struggle is excellent. His sympathy towards the poor and the suffering, his ardent love for Sonia, his affinity towards his mother and sister, and his sense of remorse are all very well depicted. The most intimate conversation between Raskonikov and Sonia is the most attractive part of the novel. Thus the novel reminds us that "for every crime , there awaits you a punishment". Hats off to the great soul ---Dostoesky. --Submitted by M.R. Varghese, Kerala