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Stephen's Reviews > Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment
by
6.0 Stars. One of my All Time Favorite novels. In addition to being one of the first works of Classic Literature that I suggest when asked for recommendations from others, this story holds a special place in my heart as it was the story, along with Moby Dick, that began my love of the “classics� for which I will always be grateful. So often we are forced to read the great works of literature for school or at times not of our choosing and I think it tends to lead to a lifelong aversion to them...like being forced to eat vegetables as a child...yuck.
I was fortunate enough to come back to these stories on my own terms while I was in College. My parents, at my request, bought me a subscription to several Easton Press library collections including the �100 Greatest Books Ever Written� and “Books That Changed the World.� Two of the first three books I received were Moby Dick and Crime and Punishment.
So I took a weekend off from getting drunk and running naked through Downtown San Diego and decided instead to get drunk in my apartment and read Crime and Punishment�.and I fell head over heals in man-love with Dostoyevsky. I loved this book from the opening scene in which Raskolnikov is convincing himself about the rightness of committing the murder of the money-lending pawn-broker all the way through the bittersweet end and the beginning of his redemption.
Powerful, brilliant, insightful and surprisingly engaging despite the fact that it is far from being a "light" read in either prose or content. The central theme of this story is not really the crime (i.e. Murder) or punishment (i.e., incarceration) in the formal sense of the word. The real crime is Raskolnikov’s arrogance in placing himself above his fellow man and thus is not bound by the rules of society (i.e., his belief he is like Napoleon). Likewise, the punishment is the deeply felt, and unexpected from his standpoint, guilt over what he has done.
It is Raskolnikov’s personal, internal struggle with the evil he has perpetrated. His mind, his body, his very essence rails against his actions and leads him down the path that will eventually lead to the possibility of redemption. It is such a deeply personal, emotionally evocative journey that it was impossible for me not to become intensely invested in the story.
Something that struck me as I was reading about Raskolnikov’s struggle with his conscience was the thought that everybody does things that they are ashamed of or wish they could change. That is part of being human. It is our ability to feel genuine remorse over our bad actions and voluntarily take steps to rectify those mistakes that leads to growth and character. I think this is why I have always loved stories of redemption because it is such a classic theme of being human.
On the other hand, I also realized why I get so bat shit crazy with anger when I hear of certain kinds of what people terms "non violent" crime. Rapists and murderers when they get caught are punished and sent to places I have nightmares about. Whether or not it is enough, we can debate, but it is defintely not a fun place.
What bothers me are the slime balls who steal and pillage millions and billions of $$$ from people who need it and end up spending time in cushy federal prisons with cable TV and other amenities. I see these "crimes" as bad as most violent crimes because they lead to real severe pain and devastation for many of the victims and yet the punishment never seems commensurate. And yet, these “white collar� criminals get off so much easier and you NEVER (or rarely) see genuine remorse over the destruction they have caused. It lead me to do a little justice fantasizing and I came up with this that I thought I would share...
Sorry for the less smooth segue, but it was something that came to me while I was reading the book. Anyway, unlike those above, Raskolnikov’s story is one of true growth and redemption and is definitely a story that I think everyone should read. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!
P.S. The second time I “read� this I listened to the unabridged audio as read by George Guidall and he did his usual AMAZING job. I think his narration is superb and truly enhanced the experience of the story.
by
Stephen's review
bookshelves: easton-press, audiobook, 6-star-books, all-time-favorites, 1800s, literature, classics, classics-asian
Aug 20, 2008
bookshelves: easton-press, audiobook, 6-star-books, all-time-favorites, 1800s, literature, classics, classics-asian
Read 2 times. Last read May 10, 2011 to May 13, 2011.
6.0 Stars. One of my All Time Favorite novels. In addition to being one of the first works of Classic Literature that I suggest when asked for recommendations from others, this story holds a special place in my heart as it was the story, along with Moby Dick, that began my love of the “classics� for which I will always be grateful. So often we are forced to read the great works of literature for school or at times not of our choosing and I think it tends to lead to a lifelong aversion to them...like being forced to eat vegetables as a child...yuck.
I was fortunate enough to come back to these stories on my own terms while I was in College. My parents, at my request, bought me a subscription to several Easton Press library collections including the �100 Greatest Books Ever Written� and “Books That Changed the World.� Two of the first three books I received were Moby Dick and Crime and Punishment.
So I took a weekend off from getting drunk and running naked through Downtown San Diego and decided instead to get drunk in my apartment and read Crime and Punishment�.and I fell head over heals in man-love with Dostoyevsky. I loved this book from the opening scene in which Raskolnikov is convincing himself about the rightness of committing the murder of the money-lending pawn-broker all the way through the bittersweet end and the beginning of his redemption.
Powerful, brilliant, insightful and surprisingly engaging despite the fact that it is far from being a "light" read in either prose or content. The central theme of this story is not really the crime (i.e. Murder) or punishment (i.e., incarceration) in the formal sense of the word. The real crime is Raskolnikov’s arrogance in placing himself above his fellow man and thus is not bound by the rules of society (i.e., his belief he is like Napoleon). Likewise, the punishment is the deeply felt, and unexpected from his standpoint, guilt over what he has done.
It is Raskolnikov’s personal, internal struggle with the evil he has perpetrated. His mind, his body, his very essence rails against his actions and leads him down the path that will eventually lead to the possibility of redemption. It is such a deeply personal, emotionally evocative journey that it was impossible for me not to become intensely invested in the story.
Something that struck me as I was reading about Raskolnikov’s struggle with his conscience was the thought that everybody does things that they are ashamed of or wish they could change. That is part of being human. It is our ability to feel genuine remorse over our bad actions and voluntarily take steps to rectify those mistakes that leads to growth and character. I think this is why I have always loved stories of redemption because it is such a classic theme of being human.
On the other hand, I also realized why I get so bat shit crazy with anger when I hear of certain kinds of what people terms "non violent" crime. Rapists and murderers when they get caught are punished and sent to places I have nightmares about. Whether or not it is enough, we can debate, but it is defintely not a fun place.
What bothers me are the slime balls who steal and pillage millions and billions of $$$ from people who need it and end up spending time in cushy federal prisons with cable TV and other amenities. I see these "crimes" as bad as most violent crimes because they lead to real severe pain and devastation for many of the victims and yet the punishment never seems commensurate. And yet, these “white collar� criminals get off so much easier and you NEVER (or rarely) see genuine remorse over the destruction they have caused. It lead me to do a little justice fantasizing and I came up with this that I thought I would share...
Sorry for the less smooth segue, but it was something that came to me while I was reading the book. Anyway, unlike those above, Raskolnikov’s story is one of true growth and redemption and is definitely a story that I think everyone should read. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!
P.S. The second time I “read� this I listened to the unabridged audio as read by George Guidall and he did his usual AMAZING job. I think his narration is superb and truly enhanced the experience of the story.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
August 20, 2008
– Shelved
May 10, 2011
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Started Reading
May 13, 2011
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I LIKE THE VIGOR AND SINCERITY IN YOUR REVIEW.Aside of the content/context value and moral implications of that great Dostoevsky's piece, I wish though that the literary style of Dostoevsky would be on par at least with ... yours (yes - I am not kidding - you know already how blunt in my judgements I could be, if needed ;-)).
The reason why "Crime and Punishment" is so popular in USA is (IMHO) - because on the "flip side" of the enormous freedom, which this country allows its citizens to apply to advance their individual and overall communal goodness and prosperity - due to belief in good intentions and having a "trust system" and presumption of innocence and prevailing intention to give to any action the "benefit of the doubt" - there is, as a result, lack of forced crime prevention, which in turns creates an unlimited possibility and enormous freedom for the "seduced" individuals to go "bad" and commit all kind of crimes (violent and non-violent, blue-collar and white-collar).
I guess that is the price, which free society pays for the freedom it has.
BTW, - are you aware of any individuals involved in to real state speculations (crimes ) in Las Vegas NV area (aside from the fact that both real estate and prostitution business in Las Vegas was originated by gangsters ;-)) ? ;-)
As far as Napoleon goes - I would say that he (as well as Caesar before him) recognized that the man (and his actions) are mostly dictated by reality and necessity rather than by sheer desires of committing crime wherever it was possible ....
Of course Clinton's answer to the similar question was: "Because I can ..." ;-)
Cheers,
Alex
Great review on one of my favorites.
Yes yes yes. I have a serious love affair with this book. I read it first in college as part of my fascination with Russion lit. I would wander around muttering frantically like Rasko. It was a real mind fuck. An intense emotional and intellectual affinity. I guess I had a little crush on Rasky. I didn't love Sonya, felt like she was the usual prostitute of gold, and I couldn't get into the Christianity, since I'm not. But I definitely liked her.
Then about 10 years ago I decided to reread, and I was floored again, but in a different way. I'm a lot older now, so I could look on Rasky as a young student, and tut tut as he went so wrong. Poor guy is starving. This is what happens with no money, your mind starts gnawing on itself from deprivation.
But I absolutely loved Sonya. Isn't that funny, my allegiances changed and I think it's because at this point in my life I'm all about the Sistahood. And I was filled with admiration for the way she remained pure, it's not stupid, it's a grace and blessing. Face the adverse conditions with integrity and courage. Keep your heart open and full of compassion and you will live a much better life.
Then
I loved it when I read it, but it's been 17 years. Definitely due for a reread.
Stephen wrote: "So often we are forced to read the great works of literature for school or at times not of our choosing and I think it tends to lead to a lifelong aversion to them...like being forced to eat vegetables as a child...yuck.".I couldn't agree more with this statement. It's probably the main reason I haven't read a lot of classics as well.
I've been on the fence about reading this for a while but I think you've just convinced me.
Great review!
I've often thought about reading this but thats about as far as I got, thats about to change though. As a first timer, could I audiobook it or do you think this is a book I should read?
I liked the image by the way. I'll just get you the ants...
Joe wrote: "I've often thought about reading this but thats about as far as I got, thats about to change though. As a first timer, could I audiobook it or do you think this is a book I should read?"I think this would be a perfect choice for an audiobook, as long as it is a good narrator. I would strongly recommend the version read by George Guidall.
Joe wrote: "I liked the image by the way. I'll just get you the ants..."Thanks, Joe. I did a little research and found out that the Amazon Bullet ant has the most painful bite in the insect world. I guess they are called bullet ants because their bite feels like being shot.
Alex wrote: "I LIKE THE VIGOR AND SINCERITY IN YOUR REVIEW.Aside of the content/context value and moral implications of that great Dostoevsky's piece, I wish though that the literary style of Dostoevsky would ..."
Thanks, Alex. That is very much appreciated. That is an interesting point about why this book is so popular in the USA. I never thought of it that way but it certainly makes sense. I will give that some thought.
Brandon wrote: "Stephen wrote: "So often we are forced to read the great works of literature for school or at times not of our choosing and I think it tends to lead to a lifelong aversion to them...like being forc..."Thanks, Brandon. I think if you approach the book inn the right mood and on your own terms, it could be a great reading experience. I hope you like it.
Lori wrote: "Yes yes yes. I have a serious love affair with this book. I read it first in college as part of my fascination with Russion lit. I would wander around muttering frantically like Rasko. It was a re..."
That is a great story, Lori. I think that is one if the neat things about re-reading books that we love. You can find you love it from a whole different perspective. I liked Sonja a lot more the second time around as well.
Thanks Stephen, i'll give George Guidall a go
Good stuff!
Stephen, great review, as usual.I'm glad you took a weekend off getting drunk and running naked through Downtown Las Vegas for long enough to write your review.
Alex makes some good points in his comment, but I'm not sure he's right (or I hope he's not right) about the "lack of forced crime prevention".
It's just as true now as it ever was that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
In a world dominated by Lady Ga Ga, we still need the Vigilant People to do their thang.
You also raise a good point about the measure of the punishment for non-violent crime.
Partly tongue-in-cheek, I'd like to suggest something along the following lines.
Let's say that a person's life is given an economic value of $1M.
This might be the amount of economic activity and family support that they would have generated in the rest of their life.
Then the penalty for a murder could be something comparable to $1M, because they have done $1M damage to somebody or their family or the economy.
This smacks of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, plus there would be valid differences of opinion about what the economic value number should be.
But put these issues aside for a second and look at a white collar criminal who fraudulently deprives investors of $300M.
This could be seen as equivalent to depriving 300 families of their means of support.
So you could argue that the penalty for the white collar criminal should be the same as 300 murder sentences.
Plus Amazon bull ants.
But not necessarily in that order.
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." Well said, that is one of my favorite quotes. I like your thoughts and completely agree that there is a disconnect between violent crime and what prevailing wisdom calls "non violent" crime.
Alex makes some good points in his ..."Under totalitarian regime
("totalitarianism is a modern autocratic government in which the state involves itself in all facets of society, including the daily life of its citizens. ..."), and I lived in one of them, called USSR, long enough ;-), "forced prevention of INDIVIDUAL non-political crimes" was achieved very effectively - regular people were too afraid even to think of committing crimes ...
Then later, when USSR disintegrated and for a few years in 1990s (under Boris N. Yeltsin), the totalitarian regime was weakened - then the individual crime in those days Russia have risen to the enormous level, far exceeding the "gangsterism" on the streets of Chicago and New York in 1920s ...
Alex, you have first hand experience of the Soviet Union, and I don't.However, just as the price of freedom might be eternal vigilance, the price of totalitarianism is eternal surveillance.
If you're going to watch over everything for political reasons, you will detect non-political criminal activity as well.
There is much more surveillance happening in the "free" west than any of us would believe, but ultimately in the less technological era the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe had to recruit the entire population to do part of the surveillance for them.
Everybody had to spy on everybody else.
One person couldn't break away from this, because they would immediately become suspect.
However, I don't think this type of surveillance was radically different from the social mechanisms that happened in a small village where everybody already knew everything about everybody else.
It was very hard to get away with crime in a society of perfect knowledge about each other.
It's a lot easier to get away with crime when the social bonds are broken or society gets too big, so that you can have a greater sphere of privacy or secrecy.
In the West, the prevention of crime results from two separate strategies.
One is morality, which equates the law to what is supposed to be moral, so that people obey the law, because they believe the law is morally right.
The other is the fear of punishment.
Regular people don't engage in criminal activity, because they don't need to (i.e., they don't have to steal to feed themselves or their drug habits), not because they are afraid.
Organised crime doesn't respect either of these strategies.
They're in business. They're not moral and they don't fear the punishment enough not to commit the crime.
On another note, I was always fascinated by the fact that one of original samizdat magazines was called something like "0.8%", because this was the amount of the population who was actually politically oppressed in their daily lives by communism.
Apart from your standard of living, most people don't care much about the political process and need to exercise any political freedom.
They are just too busy trying to make ends meet and getting on with their lives.
I would hazard a guess that every society has its equivalent to the 0.8% or whatever number it was.
They are the focus of surveillance on behalf of the rest of us, though we have to live with the surveillance as well.
Ian, The fear of commiting the crime under totalitarian regime was not based on the rational recognition of ever present surveillance.
The fear was irrational and it was working on the subconscious level - almost just as an animalistic reflex
Cheers,
Alex
Hi, Alex, I hope you don't mind me asking: what was the fear "of"?The irrational use of force by the State?
Wouldn't this make the fear itself a pretty rational response?
Otherwise I think I understand what you mean by the dog's Pavlovian fear of gratuitous violence by its master.
Hi Ian,The State was viewed as such an enormous monolithic concentration of power (one could not even see people who were running this state - like you can not see trees but just a forest)- so the fear was almost on the mystique level.
One just felt like a small insect, which will be smashed by a giant for any violation of the "rules". It is (I might only guess)like fear of unforgiving mighty God.
Thanks, Alex.Do you think if you can choose to vote for or against the State that it is any less a giant or we are any more than an insect?
If you are asking me what I feel about the state of USA where I live for last 30 years ;-) - I do not vote because voting in MA is of no use (Democrats win no matter how I would vote ;-) ). Although two party system is not much of Democracy either. However , I do feel that the power of USA Federal Government over its citizens is much less than that of USSR. I rather could say that the Government of USA does not care of its citizens at all (what a difference it makes, right ? ;-)). The only "body" I am really afraid in USA is IRS (and not FBI or CIA) ;-). The governing in USA is based on financial pressure and not on physical or political one.Now it is your turn Ian to tell me/us how do you feel about country and government where you live ... ;-)
Thanks, Alex, I didn't mean to challenge you personally, I was asking the question generically, but thanks for a great answer.I think you're right to say that, for a lot of us, the only dealing we really have with the government is once a year with the IRS or the Tax Office.
The only other time is election time.
Where I live, voting is compulsory.
That way, the government can say that it has a mandate from the public, which means that they can do anything they like to us, at least until the next election.
It's like a four year marriage where you (or your spouse) can lie and cheat for four years, but you can't get divorced until the next four year anniversary, then if you don't get divorced, you have to put up with it for the next four years.
For some reason, we never seem to get divorced.
I am a passionate believer in freedom of speech.
But it's a theoretical freedom if you don't use it.
The greatest threat to freedom of speech is passivity.
Not using your freedom is the same as not having one.
Which is what I was implying about 0.8%.
99.2% of us conform to whatever system we live under and don't rock the boat one way or another.
They/we only exercise our freedom of speech on our bumper stickers and t-shirts.
BTW, I highly recommend The Pale King, if you are interested in reading about this sort of thing.
Stephen, I have already recommended it to Brian, you have to have a crack at it too.
It'll be right up your alley, whether drunk or sober, naked or clothed.
Now I just absolutely have to reread it again!!!! Great review Stephen. This is one of my favorite classics too.
ivana wrote: "Now I just absolutely have to reread it again!!!! Great review Stephen. This is one of my favorite classics too."Thanks, Ivana.
Ian wrote: "BTW, I highly recommend The Pale King, if you are interested in reading about this sort of thing.Stephen, I have already recommended it to Brian, you have to have a crack at it too.
It'll be right up your alley, whether drunk or sober, naked or clothed."
Ian, I just saw this (3 months after you posted it). Thanks for the recommendation on The Pale King. I have yet to read any DFW, but am going to change that soon.
I never had to read any 19th century classics in school. They made us read more modern stuff like Catcher in the Rye and Farewell to Arms. Did you?
Sean wrote: "I never had to read any 19th century classics in school. They made us read more modern stuff like Catcher in the Rye and Farewell to Arms. Did you?"Yes, we had to read a few 19th century works, including A Tale of Two Cities which I did not like at the time and now is one of my favorite classics.
Thanks, Cillian. I can understand not being crazy about this given your feelings for Raskolnikov (which I completely share). I was very moved by Dostoyevsky's writing thought it made for tough reading.
Ah Stephen how I miss your reviews (and this is an old one). Any way, just started this book and now feel spurred on my your review.
I agree, one of the best ever
this book is cursed. did something bad happen when you read it? think about it..
I like your review. I especially agree with the point about white collar crime and it's true severity.
this is one classic I have yet to read:) it's on my list. I read several when I was younger(on my own..not for school) which I enjoyed. of course, there were some that I read for schoolwork..which I would like to revisit now...with no pressure! good review!
من اجمل القصص التى قرائتها فى حياتى واتمنا ان اقتنى باقى قصص دوستوفسكى
Wow. I'm amazed at what you put to words. It's just the ooomph I need to start reading some classics. So thank you.
So, in your opinion Dostoyevsky was Asian? Culturaly or ethnically?Arrrgh these AngloSaxons....
that classics-asian hashtag though :/
Hi Alex,I couldn't agree more yo you message response to Ian here : "...and I lived in one of them, called USSR, long enough ;-), "forced prevention of INDIVIDUAL non-political crimes" was achieved very effectively - regular people were too afraid even to think of committing crimes ... Then later, when USSR disintegrated and for a few years in 1990s (under Boris N. Yeltsin), the totalitarian regime was weakened - then the individual crime in those days Russia have risen to the enormous level ..." because me to have lived the USSR era long enough to relate to what you were saying. And yes in those days people were afraid to even speak their opinion for fear of being caught. Especially it reminded me in a way of Solzhenitsyn, when got released in 1993, during Yeltsin's rule, the much belated freedom he got...
Ah your review is so descriptive, feels touched deeply. Had been reading this novel long before still to complete but i have lost the way to open the book to start reading may seem silly but need help to go through. Can u help?
So did Crime and Punishment influence your decision to study law?"
Thanks, Brian...Always nice to get the thumbs up from you as your reviews are among my favorites. As far as the book impacting my decision to go to law school, not really. I was one of those weirdos who knew I wanted to go to law school when I was in high school. I wasn't sure at the time that I would "practice" law but I figured that a law degree would be a benefit in whatever field of business I ended up (and I had the good fortune to have parents willing to pay for it). Of course, once I got my law degree in 1995, the corporate/real estate legal fieldd was booming and it gave me my best opportunity to come home to Vegas...and so it goes.