No better insight into the mind of a murderer. (Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

Member Name: forstem

Product:	Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Date:	04/07/02 (112 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: , Few better written books

Disadvantages: , Some people find it initially hard work.

Crime and Punishment is one of the two original crime books (the other being The Brothers Karamazov, also by Dostoyevsky), which have been copied by crime writers ever since. The style of Crime and Punishment is knowing from the start 'who done it'. The reader then follows the story of how the murderer ended up being discovered and ultimately punished. Of course the difference between Crime and Punishment and all those Ruth Rendal books is that Crime and Punishment is a masterpiece.

This book completely captivated me from the start and I struggle to identify with people who gave up after a few pages because it was too heavy. I would suggest to anyone starting this book that they give it a chance especially when they get stuck on those tongue twisting Russian names (you soon get them). Dostoyevsky's manner and his cutting observations take you deep into the disturbed mind of the main character and anti-hero, Raskolnikov, and keeps you hooked to the end of the book.

So what?s the plot? In brief, it is about an impoverished student, Raskolnikov, who murders not one but two people in an attempt to get some cash. We follow his increasingly twisted mind, occasionally interrupted with sanity, as he tries to justify the murders to himself. The police then get onto his trail and we watch as Raskolnikov tries his utmost to avoid his inevitable punishment.

A couple of people I know said they got lost in the plot and put this down primarily to infrequent reading. So my word of advice is once you have started don't lapse or you may never finish.

Please, please, please read this book. You will be better off for doing so.

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