Crime and Punishment
by: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Genre: Classic
Rating: 5 stars
Summary from Goodreads:
Raskolnikov,
a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St
Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines
himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond
conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse
with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing
voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around
his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of
redemption.
This
was the first book assigned for my high school AP English class it was summer
reading and it was something which was dreaded by all. I am finding that
classics are a lot like vegetables, we eat them because we are told to and then
realize..."hey I actually like broccoli!" I must admit I
started the summer with good intentions and kept telling myself I would start
it tomorrow until I found myself looking at the first day of classes. Never
fear I got it done and I loved it. Russian Literature just might be one of my
favorite genres.
What I
love about this piece is how deeply it delves into the psychology of man. By
getting so directly involved with the thinking process of Raskolinkov we delve
deep into human psyche. The book isn't so much about the crime and
punishment themselves but rather about the internal crime of pride and the
internal punishment which Raskolinkov goes through. This could be the very
first psychological thriller ever written, a genre which hadn't ever been tried
before and Dostoyevsky did a masterful job at creating marvelously shaded
characters and writing a story that is absorbing and thought provoking.
I love
this piece and believe it should be one of the first “vegetables” forced upon
readers who are lacking in the classics.
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