Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

86 reviews

elchivovivo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It is hard to rate what one knows to be a tower of Literature. And I could not and would not attempt to compartmentalize the reading of the Book with the knowledge of its importance. 

Dostoievsky sits with the absolute greatest of the Letters, and his Novels stand on pedestals. The pedestal of a trophy. The pedestal of a monument.

On the contrary, the knowledge of its importance was the driving excitement behind it. By reading it I felt to be swimming in the River of History, and swimming along the greatest minds, allowing myself to be passed the same Fire. 

And it is Fire. One can feel the pages bursting through centuries of old form, as the thoughts of its characters are splattered into the pages like the splatter of an axe-murder and the crumbling of a thousand year dinasty, and the underground rumblings of a still far-off revolutions.

Reading the two Russians shakes the soul. What Tolstoy does in landscape  strokes, Dostoievsky does in VanGogh-like manic splatters of thought.

And it is a perfect and complete novel, in the sense that it is absolutely closed and tied down. It does not have moments, but its full force only arrives at the very last word. And it makes the body tremble.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Stalking, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

miss22's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

the fact that the murderer was not the worst person in the book was shocking

if svidrigailov has no haters, i’m dead

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide

midwifereading's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have now read at least three Russian classics: Anna Karenina, War & Peace, and now Crime & Punishment. Of the three, I think the latter is my favorite.

Opening with a bloody murder is a bold move, and watching the murderer struggle on the brink of madness for however many pages (a lot) was quite the journey. 

My favorite characters where the two young women, Dunya and Sonya, along with Razumikhin (the murderer's BFF). They reflect all that is good in the world, while still carrying human flaws. 

The main character (and murderer), Raskolnikov, was complex and interesting, and entirely unlikeable. And frankly, his "punishment" was pretty unsatisfying, and the ending was far softer than I thought it would be. 

I did listen on audio to the unabridged version, and the narrator was amazing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

ravenstag6's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fantastic book. Explores the mental consequences of committing a major crime. Would recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence

mariavdl's review against another edition

challenging dark

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Mental illness

Moderate: Murder

sendnunes's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

hellioux's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Suicide and Dementia

caffeinatedbookwoorm's review

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism

sofipitch's review against another edition

3.0

Given how universally loved I was not ready for how conservative Christian this book is. This book is fascinating in how it portrays a very real very harsh reality in it as a part of it's moral dilemmas, but the solutions Dostoyevsky proposes are just meaningless in a way. I will say I spent a lot of time thinking about this book and also feeling crazy bc of it's acclaimed status and just not jiving with it, so in terms of making me think, it did a good job. I'm just too much of a commie and with a strong belief in moral relativism

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Racism and Antisemitism

andradrula's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

my fav book !

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Blood, Grief, and Deportation

Minor: Antisemitism