When I started the blog, I intended to write at least once a week. Clearly I have not done that. However, I do have a good excuse. I have been reading five different books for Lent, and I intend to write sort of a review on each of them. One of them being a novel called Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
I came upon this book by way of my parish priest. He suggested it in an RCIA meeting that my brother attended. (my brother is a cradle Catholic, but he and I go to the meetings now and then anyway) Anyway, he suggested it as something to do for Lent. Since it was only $0.99 on kindle, I bought it.
Crime and Punishment, as I said, is written by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Fyodor Dostoevsky was not a popular writer, however, he has written several books.
Fyodor Dostoevsky was born 1821 in Moscow, Russia. His own experiences form the novel. He had himself undergone interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, he was literally ready to be shot by the shooting squad, when alas, his sentence was changed to penal servitude. While he was in prison he was impressed by one murderer who seemed to have attained a spiritual pride beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of other convicts also caused Dostoevsky to believe in an idea of salvation through suffering.
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
In my opinion, Fyodor writes very well. He doesn't write too much detail, causing the book to be boring. Yet, at the same time, it is challenging and detailed enough. He spends a good deal of this book introducing, not only the characters, but also the story line.I would consider it kinda a hard read, but once you get a hang of Dostoevsky's style, it becomes easier. He dwells much in several of the characters' thoughts, which is very crucial for the entire book. Because I got this book as a suggestion, without having a clue as to what it was about, it was very suspenseful for me. I had guessed that there was going to be a crime, because of the title, but until the crime was committed, I had no clue as to what it was going to be. It would have been better if I knew.
The book is about a man, driven by pride and poverty, to commit murder. Dostoevsky shows how pride is the root of all sin. And, due to self-pity of the character's poverty, his novelty of being great and better than other people, and his flawed view of mankind: he is driven to murder. The murderer's greatest hurt to him, is himself, by his actions. He causes himself great illness both physically and mentally. Dostoevsky leads you to see what chaos one man's sin can cause. He refers often to Christianity, and places a couple situations where you just wish the murderer would at least confess to a priest.
When reading this book, you will understand the torments of sin more acutely, learn how to understand your own thoughts better, and learn a few old English words that perhaps you didn't know, at least this was the case for me. Though you may become repulsed by the actions and viewpoints of the murderer, and a few other characters, you will also come to pity him. Wishing that he would repent, so to save his soul from damnation. I think that after reading this book, you will never look at a criminal in the same way. You will understand that one must suffer his crimes and sins, but also we must be merciful to them, and
visit the imprisoned. Perhaps not literally visit them, but most certainly have a healthy pity for them. You will see the beauty of love; love for God and people, and how that gives hope in the most horrid situations.
When half-way through this book, there is no need for imagining what the rest book will be, for the "options" are so vast. The book ends with justice in all ways, and hope in all aspects.
That being said, I highly recommend this book to all. You can find it at a good price here:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
Dostoevsky's
own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone
interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted
at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly
impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed to have attained a
spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of
other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian
idea of salvation through suffering. - See more at:
http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/250540/?gclid=CjwKEAiAxfu1BRDF2cfnoPyB9jESJADF-MdJtPkc0qN8yNC0lmbIGVxn8S10J5y3MjJNve4Cqb6N5xoCE8nw_wcB#isbn=0140445285&pcrid=70112866752&pkw=&pmt=&plc=
