Crime and Punishment - Review

We all believe that we are not ordinary. We’re unique. We’ve something special in us.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a story about a guy who thinks that he is extraordinary…

This is a Russian Novel published on 1866 and recommended by one of my reader.

This novel was not a easy read b’coz it was more than a century old and it was a translated one. When you read a Novel, it should be impossible for you to keep it down. You usually read many many chunks of pages at a stretch and you just cannot keep the book down. But I dint face that issue at all!! In fact many a times I thought of just stop reading the book! May be I am not tuned to reading Novel.

Crime and Punishment is about Raskolnikoff, a college drop out who saw an old money lender lady as a weed in the society. He thought, “What would Napolean do if he was in my shoes… He would’ve killed her”. He believed that the world consists of a large chunk of ordinary men and a few extraordinary men. These extraordinary men can change the face of the world. These extraordinary men are here to break laws if it is good for the community. Remember Nayagan dialogue, “Naalu Beruku Nallathu Senja Ethuvum Thappila”. So Raskolnikoff thought why can’t I kill this money lender and take her money and change the world for good! He kills her but as they say crime is followed by guilt and he cannot live peacefully. There is always a suspicion that police may capture him and he behaves crazily. I initially thought that I was missing something.. I thought why should this guy behave so foolishly may be its some Russian culture which I dint understand.. but later I realize that when you are overcome by guilt you mess up things. Also is it guilt or is it revelation to Raskolnikoff that he is just an ordinary guy?

Anyway the book actually turns very interesting in the last chapters with many nail biting events.

Some of the scenes in the Novel which are worth mentioning

Pulcheria's(Raskolnikoff ‘smother) mail to Raskolnikoff and then his own interpretation of the mail.
Marneladoff's narration of his life in the bar
Razumikhin.. Raskolnikoff’s friend who has a very sharp intellect
Svidrigailoff's talking about apparition and also his character, especially his interview with Donia.
Conversation between Loushin and Lebeziatnikoff followed by the drama that unfolded in Catherine Ivano's house.
Also the climax was very crisp.
Not to forget the murder of the money lender and the incidents immediately afterwards.
Also the intelligent detective Porfiry Petrovich’s character, especially his meetings with Roskolnikoff.
But what is unique is the narration in various parts where the author talks in past tense and then looks a little forward and narrates that as well.

Like:

"He was in full possession of his intellect; he felt neither giddy nor dazed, but his hands continued to shake. Later on, he recollected that he had been very prudent, very attentive, that he had taken every care not to soil himself"

It was like showing an incident and zooming out and saying that this was what this guy felt about this incident after x days.

We read classic novels from other countries to know their culture rite?

So after reading this novel my observations are

Russian culture is so very similar to our culture at least during the 19th century (I felt the same after seeing The Kite Runner. I was like, “ Afghan culture is so similar to our culture”)
They drink Tea
The Family bonding is very strong
A 50 year old guy can marry a 16 year girl that too immediately after his wife’s death (used to be the case in India in 19th Century as well!)
The Epilogue makes you breathe easy it shows how ppls life pans out but it was a let down. The pace of the epilogue was very ordinary and the theme very different that it seemed totally disconnected from the rest of the novel.