I just finished it a month ago. Magnificent book. When Pearl Davis says, "men are better than women at everything," she clearly hasn't met anyone like Sonya, whose love and forgiveness singlehandedly pulls Roskolnikov back from the depths of hell. Love like that comes so natural to women, yet often takes men a lifetime to learn, if learned at all.
I wanted to read Crime and Punishment for years, but was always afraid it would defeat me. Last week I picked it up and I am now halfway through, enjoying it and wondering why I was ever afraid of it. Keep your recommendations coming!
"I wanted to read Crime and Punishment for years, but was always afraid it would defeat me."
1. As a Buddy told me many many years ago, "If you don't understand what is on the page you can reread it until you do. You're smart enough,"
2. 9th grade we were assigned Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Of Course we whined and complained. I stated reading it (Very Reluctantly) when I suddenly realized It was a Pretty Darn Good Story. I mean there is a reason why people Still read Shakespeare and listen to Mozart.
I was very afraid of it too! I deliberately did not read it when going through my Russian literature phase in high school (started by my love of the movie Dr Zhivago!)
People can’t construct their own morals as though God does not exist. They fail. Postmodernism, as clever as it is with words (de Man, Derrida, Foucault, Barthe, etc.), can only follow Svidrigailov down his death spiral. Sonya only “authors” with her heart. The words she uses she speaks passionately to Raskolnikov are not her own — they are the story of Lazarus, the raising of the dead, from the Bible.
This has been my all time favorite book (by far) for many years, and it's great to know that you (Andrew) share that sentiment. I've read it six or seven times (lost count) and get excited thinking about reading it again. I leave several years between readings. It's jammed so full of unforgettable and outsized characters, and every situation Dostoevsky explores is fascinating. It isn't beach reading, it's a book to be savored, reread, and appreciated for its genius. Dostoevsky's emphasis on the inevitability and necessity of suffering is one of the things that stands out for me, and one that's probably hard to accept in this age.
As someone who loves reading, who convinced my older cousin to teach me how before I entered Kindergarten so I could make sense of the gibberish of road signs, I am ashamed to admit I've never read C&P. I've read the Brothers K but C&P always frightened me. I don't exactly know why. It has been on my bucket reading list for decades. Perhaps it is too much of a commitment, perhaps I was afraid of the person I might become after reading it, perhaps chronic illness and technology have eroded my attention span to a point of no return. I'm not really sure but there it is.
Will I read it after your glowing recommendation and that of others here? I want to say, "most definitely!" But that would be a falsehood, a lie. I can say you have peaked my interest and goaded me a good bit. So, I can say, "maybe." I am most intrigued by your comment, "It was through suffering he found faith." That interests me. I have my own faith/suffering story. We all suffer, so why did this man's suffering bring him to faith? Perhaps I can commit to this challenge. You have definitely given me a lot to consider. Perhaps once I finish Homer, another one of your (or was it Spencer's) recommendations. Perhaps. Thank you for the recommendation and the daily challenges both your writings bring.
Thank you! I actually just purchased the Kindle edition of this translation. Haven't started it yet but am getting closer to plunging ahead. Thank you again for your encouragement.
Truly one of the greatest novels ever written, and one that I have revisited many times since first reading it in college in the late '70s., not long after Andrew would have read it. I found Brothers K and The Possessed to be tougher sledding than C&P. On a lighter note, one thing I noticed in my most recent reading (about two years ago) is the "Old Crone" was 60 years old. Ouch.
Crime and Punishment is truly an amazing book. I'm trying to get my 17 year old daughter to read it as she is being bombarded with postmodernism at her school. Would it be wrong of me to offer her $50 bucks as an incentive for reading it???
I've read the Constance Garnett translation twice, and found it a gripping and surprisingly fast read. It has a very straight-forward plot, with far fewer Russian names to keep track of than in other novels I've attempted.
Our theatre company, all for One productions, mounted a production of Crime & Punishment adapted brilliantly by Marilyn Campbell & Curt Columbus. It remains, some 14 years later, one of my favorite plays I've had the privilege to direct. Both the detective and Sonja ask Raskolnikov multiple times throughout the play, "Do you believe in God?" I am reminded of the truism, "Without God, all is permitted."
Hi Andrew. I watched your talk with Pearl Davis. while listening to her, I thought "She's an eel. A slender, agile eel." When you responded to her remarks she'd deny saying what you attributed to her and/or eel around your response and go on to something different. She'd say that she was not there to tell people what to do or give men advice, but she repeatedly warned them. Are not warnings a type of advice?
Drew-you and I are the same age. I read C&P at age 19 in college. I can't remember the story details but I remember being profoundly moved. I wrote a paper for my lit class comparing and contrasting the novel with 1 John's description of love...Thank you. I am going to read it again❤️🩹
Pevear and Volokhonsky are by far the best translators! I couldn't touch Dostoevsky before they came along, and now, because of them, he's my favorite author. Once you're finished plowing through Crime and Punishment, the second best book ever written, you then need to read the first book ever written, The Brothers Karamazov, also by Dostoevsky. And there, now you have your homework, which should only take you six to eight months to read. But yeah. Wow. What a treasure those books are! Those are desert island books for sure!
I just finished it a month ago. Magnificent book. When Pearl Davis says, "men are better than women at everything," she clearly hasn't met anyone like Sonya, whose love and forgiveness singlehandedly pulls Roskolnikov back from the depths of hell. Love like that comes so natural to women, yet often takes men a lifetime to learn, if learned at all.
I wanted to read Crime and Punishment for years, but was always afraid it would defeat me. Last week I picked it up and I am now halfway through, enjoying it and wondering why I was ever afraid of it. Keep your recommendations coming!
"I wanted to read Crime and Punishment for years, but was always afraid it would defeat me."
1. As a Buddy told me many many years ago, "If you don't understand what is on the page you can reread it until you do. You're smart enough,"
2. 9th grade we were assigned Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Of Course we whined and complained. I stated reading it (Very Reluctantly) when I suddenly realized It was a Pretty Darn Good Story. I mean there is a reason why people Still read Shakespeare and listen to Mozart.
I would add Dickens to your list. The older language is a bit challenging but so worth it.
Can't go wrong with him. I mean there is a reason why people STILL read him. They're just really good stories.
I was very afraid of it too! I deliberately did not read it when going through my Russian literature phase in high school (started by my love of the movie Dr Zhivago!)
People can’t construct their own morals as though God does not exist. They fail. Postmodernism, as clever as it is with words (de Man, Derrida, Foucault, Barthe, etc.), can only follow Svidrigailov down his death spiral. Sonya only “authors” with her heart. The words she uses she speaks passionately to Raskolnikov are not her own — they are the story of Lazarus, the raising of the dead, from the Bible.
This has been my all time favorite book (by far) for many years, and it's great to know that you (Andrew) share that sentiment. I've read it six or seven times (lost count) and get excited thinking about reading it again. I leave several years between readings. It's jammed so full of unforgettable and outsized characters, and every situation Dostoevsky explores is fascinating. It isn't beach reading, it's a book to be savored, reread, and appreciated for its genius. Dostoevsky's emphasis on the inevitability and necessity of suffering is one of the things that stands out for me, and one that's probably hard to accept in this age.
I recently listened to it on Audible and it was suburbly produced and narrated.
Thank you.
Here's the Audible of the version recommended by our scribe: https://www.audible.com/pd/Crime-and-Punishment-Audiobook/B08NCWBWCY
I just bought it, looking forward to rereading the book. I read Brothers Karamozov recently for the first time. Also worthy of its reputation.
As someone who loves reading, who convinced my older cousin to teach me how before I entered Kindergarten so I could make sense of the gibberish of road signs, I am ashamed to admit I've never read C&P. I've read the Brothers K but C&P always frightened me. I don't exactly know why. It has been on my bucket reading list for decades. Perhaps it is too much of a commitment, perhaps I was afraid of the person I might become after reading it, perhaps chronic illness and technology have eroded my attention span to a point of no return. I'm not really sure but there it is.
Will I read it after your glowing recommendation and that of others here? I want to say, "most definitely!" But that would be a falsehood, a lie. I can say you have peaked my interest and goaded me a good bit. So, I can say, "maybe." I am most intrigued by your comment, "It was through suffering he found faith." That interests me. I have my own faith/suffering story. We all suffer, so why did this man's suffering bring him to faith? Perhaps I can commit to this challenge. You have definitely given me a lot to consider. Perhaps once I finish Homer, another one of your (or was it Spencer's) recommendations. Perhaps. Thank you for the recommendation and the daily challenges both your writings bring.
I'll add my voice of encouragement: do it, you won't regret it.
Thank you! I actually just purchased the Kindle edition of this translation. Haven't started it yet but am getting closer to plunging ahead. Thank you again for your encouragement.
Truly one of the greatest novels ever written, and one that I have revisited many times since first reading it in college in the late '70s., not long after Andrew would have read it. I found Brothers K and The Possessed to be tougher sledding than C&P. On a lighter note, one thing I noticed in my most recent reading (about two years ago) is the "Old Crone" was 60 years old. Ouch.
Uh oh, William. Now I’m not just a crony of the Klavans; I now may now identify as a crone. Ugh.
Crime and Punishment is truly an amazing book. I'm trying to get my 17 year old daughter to read it as she is being bombarded with postmodernism at her school. Would it be wrong of me to offer her $50 bucks as an incentive for reading it???
I've read the Constance Garnett translation twice, and found it a gripping and surprisingly fast read. It has a very straight-forward plot, with far fewer Russian names to keep track of than in other novels I've attempted.
Our theatre company, all for One productions, mounted a production of Crime & Punishment adapted brilliantly by Marilyn Campbell & Curt Columbus. It remains, some 14 years later, one of my favorite plays I've had the privilege to direct. Both the detective and Sonja ask Raskolnikov multiple times throughout the play, "Do you believe in God?" I am reminded of the truism, "Without God, all is permitted."
And he has some great short stories.
Hi Andrew. I watched your talk with Pearl Davis. while listening to her, I thought "She's an eel. A slender, agile eel." When you responded to her remarks she'd deny saying what you attributed to her and/or eel around your response and go on to something different. She'd say that she was not there to tell people what to do or give men advice, but she repeatedly warned them. Are not warnings a type of advice?
😂🤣 😳
Drew-you and I are the same age. I read C&P at age 19 in college. I can't remember the story details but I remember being profoundly moved. I wrote a paper for my lit class comparing and contrasting the novel with 1 John's description of love...Thank you. I am going to read it again❤️🩹
I will give it a shot.
Pevear and Volokhonsky are by far the best translators! I couldn't touch Dostoevsky before they came along, and now, because of them, he's my favorite author. Once you're finished plowing through Crime and Punishment, the second best book ever written, you then need to read the first book ever written, The Brothers Karamazov, also by Dostoevsky. And there, now you have your homework, which should only take you six to eight months to read. But yeah. Wow. What a treasure those books are! Those are desert island books for sure!