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“We’re always thinking of eternity as an idea that cannot be understood, something immense. But why must it be? What if, instead of all this, you suddenly find just a little room there, something like a village bath-house, grimy, and spiders in every corner, and that’s all eternity is. Sometimes, you know, I can’t help feeling that that’s what it is.”

Release Date: 1866

Genre(s): Classics

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 671

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Crime and Punishment follows Raskolnikov, a former student who commits a random murder in St. Petersburg without regret. This changes when he begins to be pursued by a suspicious police investigator and finds the voice of his own conscience growing on him. There is only one person who can offer Raskolnikov redemption.

Review

After reading what felt like several shorter classics, Crime and Punishment was just what I needed. I found with shorter classics that I wanted much more exploration into the topics at hand, as well as a story to just get lost in. And that is exactly what this book did. 

The conflict of the book itself is easily summarized with a few sentences. That being said, this book is much more about the journey than the destination, and if that’s something you look for in books, then I think you’ll like Crime and Punishment. 

What I really liked about this book in particular were the characters’ explorations of their conscience and the discussions of the presence of crime in the world as well as morality. You also see Raskolnikov’s deterioration over time and how this impacts all corners of his life. There were so many interesting conversations that took place throughout this book and I really liked this book as an in-depth exploration of the human condition. 

I can definitely see Crime and Punishment as a book that works better for some than others. But if you prefer longer classics that focus on few characters and prefer the journey with them, I think you may like reading this one.