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Cover of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Crime and Punishment

  • 520 pages · about 9 hours
  • First published 1866
  • 1,178 editions
  • Free to read

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1 About this book

Crime and Punishment (Russian: Преступлéние и наказáние, tr. Prestupleniye i nakazaniye) is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866.1 It was later published in a single volume. It is the second of Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his return from ten years of exile in Siberia. Crime and Punishment is considered the first great novel of his "mature" period of writing.

Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in St. Petersburg who formulates and executes a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her cash. Raskolnikov argues that with the pawnbroker's money he can perform good deeds to counterbalance the crime, while ridding the world of a worthless vermin.

  • Psychological fiction
  • Murder
  • Mystery
  • Crime
  • Murderers
  • Conscience
  • Guilt
  • Saint petersburg

2 What to expect

A poor student murders a pawnbroker and is consumed by guilt. Long, feverish and psychological, with philosophical debates and many Russian names to keep track of.

Good for readers who want: a classic, psychology, and a long read.

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4 About Fyodor Dostoyevsky

1821–1881

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (11 November [O.S. 30 October] 1821 – 9 February [O.S. 28 January] 1881) was a Russian philosopher, novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influential masterpieces.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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