Scan barcode
A review by lily330333
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Charles W. Goddard
5.0
I originally wanted to read something light, just having finished Jane Eyre. I picked up Crime and Punishment just to glance at its description since it had been sitting on my bookshelf for over a year and I 'm really glad I did.
This book was unexpected both in my circumstance of reading it and in the story itself. The main character Raskolnikov constantly surprised me - his dealing with his own actions and fighting with his thoughts, I was very intrigued at his many dilemmas and internal struggles throughout the book.
Since the book is written in third person, there is a slight disconnect from the main character, which is very fitting since his actions are so unique to himself.
In my opinion, this book is a brilliant and very realistic depiction of the gray area we as individuals face in our day to day lives. While Raskolnikov does show many bipolar tendencies and is constantly contradicting even himself, the revelation of his thoughts and the reasoning behind them made it very apparent how a person with this disorder may act in his circumstances, as I found myself understanding and many times even rooting for his character. Going back to the depiction of reality, as I reflect I realize that Raskolnikov could neither be considered a morally good or bad person, he is simply human - a product of his nature and the circumstances he is faced with.
In regards to his self-proclaimed title of 'genius', this was not very apparent to me, but this may have been intentional on Dostoyevsky's part since it would further his depiction as someone with bipolar disorder due to his heightened bouts of delusion. Some of his actions frustrated me deeply but I think thats the beauty of the writing, its likeness to what an individual in his position would act like in the real world.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I found myself zoning out only in a few of the deeply philosophical rants, but I did enjoy the story as a whole. I would say I started to really want to pick up the story around the 100 ish page mark so make sure to give this book a fair chance before you put it down prematurely. I would review Crime and Punishment a 9.5/10 but since that isn't possible here I will settle on a 5/5.
This book was unexpected both in my circumstance of reading it and in the story itself. The main character Raskolnikov constantly surprised me - his dealing with his own actions and fighting with his thoughts, I was very intrigued at his many dilemmas and internal struggles throughout the book.
Since the book is written in third person, there is a slight disconnect from the main character, which is very fitting since his actions are so unique to himself.
In my opinion, this book is a brilliant and very realistic depiction of the gray area we as individuals face in our day to day lives. While Raskolnikov does show many bipolar tendencies and is constantly contradicting even himself, the revelation of his thoughts and the reasoning behind them made it very apparent how a person with this disorder may act in his circumstances, as I found myself understanding and many times even rooting for his character. Going back to the depiction of reality, as I reflect I realize that Raskolnikov could neither be considered a morally good or bad person, he is simply human - a product of his nature and the circumstances he is faced with.
In regards to his self-proclaimed title of 'genius', this was not very apparent to me, but this may have been intentional on Dostoyevsky's part since it would further his depiction as someone with bipolar disorder due to his heightened bouts of delusion. Some of his actions frustrated me deeply but I think thats the beauty of the writing, its likeness to what an individual in his position would act like in the real world.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I found myself zoning out only in a few of the deeply philosophical rants, but I did enjoy the story as a whole. I would say I started to really want to pick up the story around the 100 ish page mark so make sure to give this book a fair chance before you put it down prematurely. I would review Crime and Punishment a 9.5/10 but since that isn't possible here I will settle on a 5/5.