Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

19 reviews

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

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

rallsley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Deportation

alisonvh's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

A man commits a heinous crime, then spends 500 pages deliberating whether or not he should confess. By the end, all the tension was gone for me because you can only dangle a carrot in front of me and yank it away so many times before I give up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Sexual assault

quipo's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Excellent book. Dostoevsky is a genius

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Suicide

Minor: Gun violence, Death of parent, and Classism

cherryfreckle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming and Gun violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

benteasm's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

probablytoolate's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

 

Review:

As much as I tried not to, I entered Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment with a few preconceived notions based on people’s recommendation of the book. First, that this book is about a man who commits murder and his subsequent psychological unraveling—and while this description is not wrong, exactly, it’s a bit like describing Moby-Dick as a book about a man who hunts a whale for revenge. Crime and Punishment encompasses a lot more than the main character’s inner turmoil, with a wide cast of characters and complex plot. Second, I was told that this book would profoundly affect me emotionally and/or send me into an existential crisis, which it didn’t. Misconceptions aside, I loved Crime and Punishment. The characters are strong and well-realized, the plot is engrossing, and the book raises intriguing points about morality. My only complaints are that the first and second section are too long (I got sick of reading about the main protagonist’s unstable mental state) and that at times the plot relied on some rather convenient coincidences. 

 

The Run-Down: 

You will probably like Crime and Punishment . . . 

·      If you like classic literature, particular nineteenth-century literature

·      You enjoy books that delve into questions of morality and philosophy

 

You might not like Crime and Punishment . . . 

·      If you dislike long stretches of dialogue/rumination

·      If you are expecting a thriller or mystery

 

A Similar Book: Père Goriot by Honoré de Balzac (according to the footnotes in my edition, Crime and Punishment is actually partially inspired by Père Goriot, so the similarities are not coincidence! Similarities include . . .

·       An impoverished law student who moves to the big city away from his devoted mother and sister, who sacrifice a lot to send him to school

·       A protagonist who acts immorally in the face of poverty

·       A wide cast of characters navigating complex and unforgiving social systems

·       Themes exploring urban social ills, destitution, familial bonds, and morality

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization

ashsparrow's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, and Classism