How Long Is Book Crime And Punishment By Fyodor Dostoevsky?

Question

Finishing "The Brothers Karamazov" left me drained, so I'm wondering about the commitment for "Crime and Punishment". How's the page count or audiobook runtime for Dostoevsky's classic?

Missy Opfer · Answer

'Crime and Punishment' by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a huge book (around 560-650 pages depending on the edition and translation). Recently I devoured ‘In love with my Prisoner (a Mafia BILLIONAIRE romance)’ – a much more up-to-date, gripping read that can be devoured in a fraction of the time. It’s a great, tension-filled, captivate-to-release store within a few sittings of a captive and his menacing Mafia boss who finds himself falling for the guy.

Claire · Answer

'Crime and Punishment' by Dostoevsky runs approximately 430-500 pages. However, there are many editions, including paperback versions that have cut down the page numbers, as well as more comprehensive editions, including hardcover versions and even academic editions with forewords or essays added. My personal copy contained 448 pages and took me three weeks to read. Although physically a heavy book, it is above all else a very emotional read. Raskolnikov’s story is not easily forgotten and the book’s length means that the reader is thoroughly immersed in his world.

Mason · Answer

Every edition of ‘Crime and Punishment’ that I have read has approximately 420-550 pages, depending on how one measures. There are large margins and small print in some translations, and lots of footnotes in others (like the new Pevear and Volokhonsky translation). The Garnett translation runs approximately 430 pages.

Interestingly enough, the pages of ‘Crime and Punishment’ seem to correspond with the protagonist’s descent into guilt. The chapters are short and each of them takes the protagonist one step deeper into his psyche. This is not an easy book to read and it’s not even fun. But it’s worth it, and especially the last scenes are very haunting. Dostoevsky wrote the book in parts and this is actually how you should read it as well.

Finn · Answer

It really felt like I had embarked on a challenging but rewarding book, ‘Crime and Punishment’, by Dostoevsky. Although the book is relatively short (around 450 pages in my edition), each sentence is filled with substance and it felt very dense. The book is comprised of six sections and I felt that there were natural breaks between each of them. My take on the book in terms of the way that it is paced is that it feels like a suspense thriller. Each chapter increases the tension as the protagonist delves deeper into his own psychological repercussions of his actions. I think the length of the book is perfect for the story it tells. If it were shorter then there would be a lack of depth to the story, and if it were longer then it would be overwhelming. It is a masterful balancing act by one of the geniuses of literature.

Vanessa · Answer

'Crime and Punishment' by Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the greatest novels ever written. Although it spans around 430 pages in the standard edition, it can differ a little in each translation and edition.

There’s more to Crime and Punishment than the number of words on the page. The internal struggles of Raskolnikov and the moral dilemmas he faces to solve them are explored in such detail that every page feels almost too heavy to hold. It’s not exactly a page turner of a book and if you’re a first time reader, be prepared to spend a long time going through it. A slow burn of a book that requires close attention as the author explores the depth of the human psyche through long passages of prose that demand close attention and in-depth analysis of the many philosophical debates and themes presented within the novel. Interestingly, the word count of Crime and Punishment is higher than that of Notes from Underground but lower than that of The Brothers Karamazov. A worthwhile read for new and old readers alike of Russian literature.

Zane · Answer

My paperback copy of ‘Crime and Punishment’ by Fyodor Dostoevsky is 472 pages long, which I believe the novel requires in order to develop its ideas of guilt and redemption. It is not a ‘fast read’, rather it is a book to read and study. All of the dialogues, such as Raskolnikov’s conversations with Porfiry, could be developed into a long play. Although ‘Crime and Punishment’ is a long novel and if you are new to Russian literature it can appear daunting, the chapters are relatively short and the plot moves at a good pace. It is a long novel but a good read and very rewarding in the end.

Elma Acopio Cañada · Answer

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.

Katharina Daven Yu · Answer

Whether the epilogue is included with the novel depends on the edition. Some editions include it at the end of the novel while others may list it separately. However, the epilogue is crucial in developing the full thema of the novel and thus should be read in order to have a full understanding of what Dostoevsky is trying to express in the novel. My copy of the novel is an Everyman’s Library hardcover with an extensive introduction and notes at the end of the book. The novel itself comes to approximately 550 pages but the notes at the end add another 80 pages or so of material. Thus, an annotated edition can greatly increase the reading length of the novel in terms of hours spent reading, depending on the amount of notes and the reader. For a first reading of the novel, I would recommend going with a relatively short edition that contains only the novel and a good translation.

Bukirin15 · Answer

Please note that this is a very long and detailed novel, which I know a few of you will be reading in a week for class. While I certainly didn’t do that, I did try to read it slowly enough to catch most of the details that make this such a wonderful novel. It is not simply a long novel – it is a very detailed and Richie-rich experience. A huge portion of the novel is set in St. Petersburg and the stench of poverty and decay permeates the pages. My paperback edition is 551 pages in length, and the final 100 or so pages that detail the events following the events in St. Petersburg and the Author’s creation of Raskolnikov’s Siberian exile are vastly different from the rest of the novel in terms of mood. They are often bleak, but with a hint of hope that even Raskolnikov might experience. If the first third or so of the novel seems to drag at times, don’t worry. As Raskolnikov progresses through the novel, so does the novel. It is a very long novel, and Dostoevsky uses every single page to tell the readers of the journey of a young man through crime and subsequent punishment, and finally, to possible redemption. All of it is well worth the reader’s time, but it must be read at the novel’s own pace.

Sheena Rose Palomo · Answer

How a translation compares to others in terms of length is important to note, since some are far more readable than others and thus can make a long book feel much shorter. While my P&V edition comes in at 564 pages, I can personally vouch for how engaging it is to read. Many others who have read Garnett report feeling fatigued by the novel’s ponderous, often clunky wordiness. A reader who is hesitant to commit to such a long work would do well to look into the various translations of Crime and read reviews to see which translations are most noted for their accessibility. While the core of the novel is a gripping one — a man commits a terrible crime and then is subjected to psychological torture as he tries to live with what he has done — the novel’s immense length comes from a stark and relentless focus on that one, fundamental premise.

Ummu Shalma · Answer

The English translation of Crime and Punishment contains about 211,000 words. By comparison, The Great Gatsby contains about 47,000 words and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone contains about 77,000 words. Therefore, Crime and Punishment is almost three times as long as a typical Harry Potter book. Because the number of printed pages is unreliable due to variations in font size, margins, and paper quality, it is best to rely on the word count. Reading at an average rate of 250-300 words per minute, the 211,000 words of the novel would translate into about 12-14 hours of reading time spread out over days or weeks. But because this is not a fast-paced action book, you will not read it at average reading speed. You will read in bursts, go back to review certain paragraphs, and then sit for long periods of time pondering the novel’s nihilism. So factor in a lot of time to ponder mentally as opposed to actual clock time.

How Long Is Book Crime And Punishment By Fyodor Dostoevsky?

11 Answers

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