The first book review on the blog, but I plan to put many more in here. Mainly because writing helps me collect my thoughts, and form a more concise opinion about the book and the writer. Anyone coming across it and deciding to read/not read the book is the second reason, so I'll try to avoid as many spoilers as I can. Also, if you have read this book (or even if not) and would want to discuss anything, the comments are a great place to put your thoughts.
Crime and Punishment was on my to-read list and I got hold of a copy just one week before everything went into lock down. The book is divided into parts, 1-6 and my progress through the parts was very erratic. Part one took me one month and the rest took three weeks. I would not call part one boring, it was the effectiveness of this section that made you not want to put the book down while reading the remaining parts. It transports you to Dostoevsky's St. Petersburg, puts you inside Rodion's (the main character) mind, connects you to his thoughts and ideas, and the magic of a good foundation is such, that you slowly go mad with him. I feel that the slow, building nature of part one is a necessity to let the rest of the story flow. The tone that the author sets is very grey and foggy, both inside Rodion's mind and the city itself, but there are certain sharp moments when everything clears up and those are the moments that affect the story. Then it all goes back to a foggy continuity. These sharp moments keep increasing and getting longer as the story moves forward, and there is an ache in your chest when it ends.
Rodion murders someone. But this murder is not the central conflict of the story. The thing that makes this story special is the psychological implications of the murder, both before and after it happens. On Rodion, people close to him, the policemen. Murder and Suicide are major themes of this book, and I think Dostoevsky's own personal experience played a big part in this. He was going to be hanged, was standing waiting for his death and had probably already accepted his death when a messenger arrived telling him that he had been pardoned (along with the few other prisoners in the same situation). He saw one of them go mad before his eyes, and then served his sentence in Siberia, having a lot of time to process everything. The magic of this book is the result of a coincidence, such a mind-shattering experience happening to such a talented storyteller. Also his time in Siberia surrounded by other criminals probably helped him formulate his ideas about crime, his consequent struggle with money and moneylenders formed his ideas about the structure of society and economy, and we strongly see them reflected in his characters and the direction the story goes in.
Another great thing about this book is the clever use of perspective. It's not always in first person, but you always know just enough to understand Rodion's state of mind. As a consequence to this, you understand this murderer and a bond forms between him and you. Even if you don't agree with his opinions and ideas, even if you hate the decisions he makes, you don't want him to suffer anymore. An overview or a character sketch of Rodion would paint him as a psychopath. Another character, Svidrigaïlov, is a depraved maniac with no sense of morality. And yet I hated Luzhin more than both of them, even though his only crime was being prideful and old fashioned. Rodion was prideful too, but I think the difference was that the narrative introduced me to Rodion and Svidrigaïlov's sufferings, their pain along with their crimes, and that added a humanity to those characters. Luzhin seemed like an almost alien, malevolent Individual deserving of all the contempt you have. Creating such a strong, morally challenging narrative which makes the reader double check their own emotions is a very difficult thing to pull off, but Dostoevsky does it perfectly.
Another strong point was Sonya. Her religiousness, her sense of pride even in a society which constantly shamed her was in a stark contrast with Rodion's atheism and constant sense of fear. Their interactions are some of the best paragraphs in the book, the dynamic between them matched probably only by Rodion and Svidrigaïlov's in terms of being interesting and emotional. Sonya was the point around which the latter half of the book revolved around and in a sense she kept the story together, till the very last sentence of the epilogue. Although her character is a traditionally "womanly" character, like most female characters sadly are in classic novels, it's not because Dostoevsky cannot write strong women. Dounia, Rodion's sister is a very strong woman character much different from other classical heroines. I think this is intentional to showcase a different kind of strength, an emotional, mental strength. She is someone who would cry when someone raises their voice at her, but her will to live, her will to power through all the atrocities and problems in her life, the morals she believes in, her faith in god is what makes her character strong. And it is her who gathers up all the loose ends and ties them up, and inspires Rodion's inner turmoil to reach a peaceful end.
I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone who has ever contemplated about murder or about what might morally go on in the mind of someone who plans a murder. I also strongly recommend it to everyone else. It is a saga of mental anguish and moral dilemmas. I'll attach two of my favorite cover arts from all the editions (which I am planning to make a part of all book reviews)
