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Is Dostoyevsky'S 'Crime And Punishment' Worth Reading?
Been on a psychological fiction binge, and my friend recommended Crime and Punishment for its moral exploration, but I'm intimidated by the dense Russian literature vibe.
2026-05-02 05:28:58
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Kim
Yes, it is a very psychological story and still holds up today in exploring feelings of guilt and morality. Most of the time I prefer to read a story with this much character development in a more modern, faster paced package. I just finished reading In love with my Prisoner (a Mafia BILLIONAIRE romance). For a romance novel it explores a very interesting moral struggle. The story follows a woman who is forced to guard her dangerous, charismatic captive. As she tries to keep him imprisoned, she must also try to figure out who is in control of the situation and as they fall in love, who is the real dominant one.
2026-08-04
Yolanda
It’s quite surprising to me that ‘Crime and Punishment’ is such a read-to-finish novel, as the content is very heavy-going. The author follows the downward spiral of the main character Raskolnikov into madness, in much the same way as a true-crime story. We follow his decline with great interest, often despite his detestable nature. The author Dostoyevsky has a great sense of dark humour too, often reliving the horrors of the past in a darkly comedic fashion. (The axes for burying the-body scenes are quite comedic).
You won’t find this to be a light read, but some of the greatest literature in existence explores the same topics that this novel does: do people have free will? Is justice ever really served? And does suffering really purify the soul? This is one of the most unbeatable novels on these issues that you’ll ever read. Just maybe not by yourself at midnight, though – some of the scenes are far more terrifying than any horror novel.
You won’t find this to be a light read, but some of the greatest literature in existence explores the same topics that this novel does: do people have free will? Is justice ever really served? And does suffering really purify the soul? This is one of the most unbeatable novels on these issues that you’ll ever read. Just maybe not by yourself at midnight, though – some of the scenes are far more terrifying than any horror novel.
2026-05-03
Paisley
If you want to delve deeper into a character’s psyche, then ‘Crime and Punishment’ by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is definitely a book you should read. The struggles that the main character Raskolnikov goes through after committing murder are not just struggling to come to terms with the crime he has committed, but a real examination of morality and how pride can lead to a downfall and subsequent search for redemption. His downward spiral into madness is portrayed in such a way that it often becomes almost unbearable to read as if you are being pulled down with him. Also worth a mention is Sonya who is quiet but a hope in a desperate situation, and thus makes the darker circumstances even more desperate.
There are lots of modern themes contained within the book. So much of the novel feels as if it were ripped straight from a social commentary piece of today, including many themes of alienation and existential dread as well as the costs of egomania. Many of the long tangents in the book are very nuanced and add a lot to the rest of the text, such as the drunkard Marmeladov’s tragic and sad monologues, as well as Svidrigailov’s smooth and eerie nature. For a long time after reading the book, it will stick with you like a stain on your conscience.
There are lots of modern themes contained within the book. So much of the novel feels as if it were ripped straight from a social commentary piece of today, including many themes of alienation and existential dread as well as the costs of egomania. Many of the long tangents in the book are very nuanced and add a lot to the rest of the text, such as the drunkard Marmeladov’s tragic and sad monologues, as well as Svidrigailov’s smooth and eerie nature. For a long time after reading the book, it will stick with you like a stain on your conscience.
2026-05-05
Liam
I picked up this paperback of Crime and Punishment during a rather dreary winter’s month. A perfect read to match the season as the author throws you head-first into the world of his troubled protagonist, in the midst of his strange and disturbing feverish dreams, plagued by sticky sweats and awkward, burgeoning paranoia. The secondary characters of Dostoyevsky’s masterpiece are also a brilliant addition and are especially memorable during Porfiry’s tilting, cat-and-mouse games of psychological acrobatics. Even some of the more minute figures from the novel, like gloating but merely unimpressive sulky snoot Luzhin, manage to raise a reader’s hackles with their odious, petty behavior.
Some people may have trouble getting through all of the philosophical arguments, but they are really important to understand the differences in the ideologies of the time. I also liked the ambiguity of the ending of the book. Was Raskolnikov’s redemption real or is he just pretending to be better? Either way, it was a very good book.
Some people may have trouble getting through all of the philosophical arguments, but they are really important to understand the differences in the ideologies of the time. I also liked the ambiguity of the ending of the book. Was Raskolnikov’s redemption real or is he just pretending to be better? Either way, it was a very good book.
2026-05-07
Brad Hileman
I struggled with the female characters in this novel. Sonya is pure and suffering and her faith saves the male protagonist. Dunya is a plot device to be fought over by the two main male characters. Katerina Ivanovna is a tragic figure but also a hysterical stereotype. For a book that has such depth into the psychology of guilt and pride in males, the female characters are largely archetypes from a bygone era. This is a major flaw that will pull most modern readers out of the story. These character flaws must be viewed in the context of the time period in which they were written.
2026-08-01
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Related Questions
is crime and punishment hard to read
6 Answers2026-07-27
Looking at a few translations again, since that is important. Garnett’s translation of Raskolnikov’s plan for his theory of the matter refers to it as a project; P&V translates this as an idea. One of these makes Raskolnikov out to be a rather abstract-minded sociologist; the other is of a piece with the rest of the novel and paints him as a man quite obsessive with his fixed idea. Do some research on translations; read some reviews. Choosing a translation is choosing a lens through which to read a story; and that choice will affect almost every character and theme in the novel.
How many pages is Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky?
7 Answers2025-07-13
My edition of the novel was 671 pages long, and I read it in 14 days, averaging 48 pages per day. I didn’t force myself to read a certain amount each day, but instead tried to read at about the same time every day. By doing so, I was able to sustain the mood of the novel, and maintain the necessary tension. Reading a long classic such as this can be daunting, but by setting a daily goal of, say, 30-50 pages, it becomes a pleasant daily ritual, rather than a chore. I read for about 30 minutes before bed each night, completing a chapter or two before drifting off to sleep. During the night, I would have strange and philosophical dreams. The novel would seep into my subconscious if I gave it consistent attention, and I found that the daily commitment to reading was enjoyable, rather than arduous.
How does book crime and punishment by fyodor dostoevsky end?
3 Answers2025-07-13
Let’s just give some credit to poor Sonya. Rather than telling us about Raskolnikov’s experiences, Sonya gives up her entire life and goes to Siberia. Her quiet strength in the epilogue is far more powerful than Raskolnikov’s collapse. She is the anchor of the entire ending to the novel.
How long is book crime and punishment by fyodor dostoevsky?
10 Answers2025-07-13
A book that benefits from marginalia. I felt like I had the most wonderful time reading this book. I underlined so much, put in so many question marks and exclamation marks, and felt that I was almost arguing with Raskolnikov on the margins of the pages. Noting down all the symbolic moments and tracking the weather and how it affected the mood of the characters was all so very worthwhile. And I felt that the length of the book was made so very meaningful by my having been an active reader, as opposed to having simply read the book. All in all, therefore, my having read this book was not simply a matter of my having logged so many hours, for in fact the time spent reading, and then thinking about and annotating what I had just read, was more than worth while. In short, I felt that I had been able to establish a most wonderful relationship with a very complex book. And if one approaches a classic such as this with the same mindset, then soon one will realize that the number of pages does not even begin to matter. For what matters is not the mere counting down of the number of pages left to read, but rather the wonderful and most superb process of understanding the book that one is reading.
What is the best translation of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky?
8 Answers2025-07-13
It’s interesting that no one has brought up the Constance Garnett translation of “Crime and Punishment” yet. While her translation is historical and oft-reprinted, reading it after P&V is like watching a movie with the contrast cranked down low. The rough edges of Garnett’s translation have all been smoothed over to make Dostoevsky’s work read like that of a slightly more agitated Jane Austen. But Dostoevsky isn’t Austen. He’s a tough, uncomfortable, and repetitive writer who dives deep into the psychological inner lives of his characters to expose their inner conflicts and psychological fears. The P&V translation has somehow managed to resurrect all of the edgey and uncomfortable aspects of Dostoevsky’s novel for English-speaking readers. While it’s true that some of the translations are a bit awkward, it’s sort of necessary in order to accurately portray the main character, Raskolnikov, as well as the dirty, sick, and oppressive city in which he lives. If you want to read a smooth and pleasant classic, then read something else. But “Crime and Punishment” is not for the faint of heart, and you’ll need a translation that isn’t afraid of the novel’s mess.
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I must acknowledge that the P&V marketing machine is very good at what it does. So, you’ll find them on the cover of most classic sections in bookstores, and they are often good. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the best translation of a given work, and therefore, other very good translations are dismissed solely on the basis of-store front hype.
And it creates a fascinating (and totally unfair) situation in which to laud Garnett or another translator one instantly appears to be a snarky, overhyping hipster contrarian challenging the givens of mass marketing. P&V is, for many, often the only good option, for specific books, however, another translator might be offering a far more suitable translation than P&V’s. Ultimately, one serves Dostoevsky, not the translator or publishing brand.
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Which dostoevsky books are shortest for quick reads?
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The Double is another short work by Dostoevsky worth reading. It’s not the shortest work by the author, but it’s definitely short enough to be read in a few hours of dedicated reading. It’s an early work by Dostoevsky, and it’s interesting to see how he was already developing the major themes of his work, including the effects of madness on a person’s identity. The translation of The Double into English is also very important. An older translation of The Double by Constance Garnett is somewhat clumsy. A much better version of The Double is the translation by the authors of Called Up to the Front, Pevear and Volokhonsky, who also translated Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov for good reason.
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