Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Raskolnikov is an impoverished student in St. Petersburg, Russia. Yet his pride is still strong. His own views of life are esoterical - he sees life is unfair. He has pawned the last of his valuables with an old woman who is one of the local pawnbrokers. The more Raskolnikov considers the unfairness of life, she becomes the focus of his thoughts. In his arrogance, he decides that he is better than she. He takes an axe to her apartment and kills her. When her sister comes home before he has left the apartment, he kills the sister as well. Then he escapes undetected.

No one suspects Raskolnikov of murdering the old woman. But he convicts himself. He acts in odd manners, helps the wrong people, rejects the right people, and befriends a young prostitute. The local detective who often helps the police knows that Raskolnikov is guilty. Now he wants to prove it.

This is one of those classic novels you either love or hate. I hated it. It was ponderous, pointless, dull, and dragging. Raskolnikov is stupid from the beginning of the book. By the time he is ill after the murder, I was skimming the book. I stuck with it because that is what you're supposed to do with great books. The book is dark and depressing from beginning to end. I couldn't get into the introspection or the condition of man.

In my opinion, don't bother with this novel. But as I said, you either love it or hate it. Go check out other sites for more opinions.