Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoevsky · Преступление и наказание
Assigned by 2 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1866
- Form
- Novel
- Language
- Russian
- Length
- Long · 550 pp300 to 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendCrime and Punishment, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa VolokhonskyVintage Classics, 1993Faithful to Dostoevsky's abrupt, repetitive style; Oliver Ready's Penguin version is a good alternative.
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Raskolnikov, a poor former student in St Petersburg, murders an old pawnbroker and her sister with an axe, half to relieve his poverty and half to test his theory that extraordinary men may step over the law. The rest of the novel follows his fever, his cat-and-mouse with the detective Porfiry, his family's troubles and his friendship with Sonya, a young prostitute who reads him the raising of Lazarus. He confesses and is sent to Siberia, where the epilogue shows the beginning of a new life.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Crime and Punishment are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
