REVIEW: Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

Book: Crime and Punishment

Author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

My rating: 4/5.

Premise: Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck.

This was an interesting read. The story follows Raskolnikov as he commits murder, then showing how such an act might affect someone. At first, I didn't like Raskolnikov as he was just being a dick to various people. But gradually he won me round. Throughout, the novel questions whether, in the case of crime, the ends justify the means. For example, is it OK to murder one person if it'll benefit hundreds? It also questions why we turn a blind eye to crime in certain situations (e.g. during war) or for certain people (e.g. people seizing power or making great discoveries). Near the end, the book starts looking at moral character. There are some characters who do appalling things that, in law, aren't crimes. Meanwhile, Raskolnikov helps other people in poverty yet commits murder. Do other moral deeds outweigh the crime? One thing I loved in this book were the bits of feminism. Some of the male characters had very modern views about women and women's rights, which surprised me. For example, one character didn't bat an eye at prostitution and says that there'll be a day where what women do with their bodies will be accepted and won't be so scandalous. Given this book was written over 100 years ago (and we've still not gotten to this point in society), these bits of feminism made me fall in love with Dostoyevsky even more! A real thought-provoking book.