Crime and Punishment (Everyman's Library) Hardcover – May 25, 1993

by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear (Translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator)

Raskolnikov, an impoverished student living in the St. Petersburg of the tsars, is determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled individual will. When he commits an act of murder and theft, he sets into motion a story that, for its excruciating suspense, its atmospheric vividness, and its depth of characterization and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world. The best known of Dostoevsky’s masterpieces, Crime and Punishment can bear any amount of rereading without losing a drop of its power over our imaginations.

Dostoevsky’s drama of sin, guilt, and redemption transforms the sordid story of an old woman’s murder into the nineteenth century’s profoundest and most compelling philosophical novel.

Award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky render this elusive and wildly innovative novel with an energy, suppleness, and range of voice that do full justice to the genius of its creator.

Genres: Fiction, Classics

691 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 12, 2023

About the author

Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский (Russian)

Works, such as the novels Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880), of Russian writer Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky or Dostoevski combine religious mysticism with profound psychological insight.

Very influential writings of Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin included Problems of Dostoyevsky's Works (1929),

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky composed short stories, essays, and journals. His literature explores humans in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century and engages with a variety of philosophies and themes. People most acclaimed his Demons(1872) .

Many literary critics rate him among the greatest authors of world literature and consider multiple books written by him to be highly influential masterpieces. They consider his Notes from Underground of the first existentialist literature. He is also well regarded as a philosopher and theologian.

(Russian: Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (see also Fiodor Dostoïevski)

Reviews

[Notes Between Pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about Dostoevsky that hasn’t already been said? Perhaps nothing new, and yet everything, because this was my experience—and it was unforgettable.

I first attempted Crime and Punishment as a teenage girl nearly thirty years ago. I do not remember finishing it, and if I did, I certainly didn’t understand it. But now, at this point in my life, immersed in deep introspection, philosophy, and questions of human suffering, choice, and redemption, I knew the time had come to return to Dostoevsky.

I read the Everyman’s Library edition, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, and it is by far the most vivid, rich, and alive translation I’ve come across. I began the book in another edition but quickly switched, and the difference was night and day. This translation captured Dostoevsky’s voice in all its madness, nuance, and moral urgency.

As for the novel itself—reading it was like being trapped in a lift with Raskolnikov. I was invisible to him, yet I breathed the same air. The lift was stuck. The air slowly ran out. And he raged, muttered, despaired, debated, and unravelled before me. I felt the claustrophobia of his inner world—the suffocating psychological space of guilt, delusion, anguish, and moments of startling lucidity. I was there, utterly present, yet unseen.

And this, I believe, was Dostoevsky’s intention: to trap us with this character, to force us to confront the darkness in him and in ourselves. The pressure never lifted. But I am grateful. I am now, at nearly 48, in a place where I can receive this work for what it is: profound, disturbing, and utterly essential.

Five stars—without hesitation. This journey was not easy, but it was worth everything.

[Preslee Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best psychoanalysis of guilt and conscience that I've read. There might be spoilers here?? Idk yall, it's been released for a while,

The parallels between the book and Fyodor Dostoevsky's life are hard to ignore. The story follows Raskolnikov as he contemplates and reasons with himself to murder a rich woman because he is broke. He reasons this with the fact that she is a horrible person and he is a college student who aims to do better in the world. After the murder though, Raskolnikov's guilt follows him like a storm cloud and leads him to go kinda insane and eventually, he admits guilt to the police. He is sent to a prison camp in Siberia, where he essentially finds God and acknowledges that he isn't extraordinary.

In real life Russia, around 10 years before this book was written, Dostoevsky was sent to a prison camp in Siberia for being a political activist. When he came out, he essentially also found God and emerged with a more conservative view. He discusses in writings after this time that he finds himself angry at the new liberals he sees because they just don't seem to get it. In response to those new activists, he wrote Crime and Punishment. The reason this book is so great is I feel it is framed off of Dostoevsky's mind. In a way, Raskolnikov is Dostoevsky, and that allowed him to write about conscience and guilt in great emotional depth.



My unwarrented opinion: He was 1984'd

[Richard Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and feel like I gained a lot from reading it.

[Andrey Shlyakhovoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Crime and Punishment” is a profound psychological novel exploring guilt, redemption, and moral struggle. Dostoevsky dives into the darkest corners of the human mind through Raskolnikov’s crime, his justifications, and his unbearable remorse.

For me, this book is a reminder that no idea or theory can justify harming another person. Even in business and finance, where decisions affect lives, ethics must stand above intellect. The novel’s philosophical depth and raw realism make it an unforgettable experience.

[Kenny Lookingbill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute must read. The dialogue can be a bit grating, as it was written 140 years ago and translated, plus a different culture of people and therefore banter. But everything else, plot, characters are incredible. This book lives up to expectations and is one I won't forget

[C. Adam Volle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What most impresses me about Dostoevsky is that even writing from the 1860s, he can still make me laugh.

[Aayushi Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Crime and Punishment was a deeply unsettling and absorbing exploration of guilt, morality, and redemption. Dostoevsky doesn’t just tell a story—he immerses you in the fractured mind of Raskolnikov, forcing you to confront the darkest corners of human conscience. Dostoevsky creates characters that are as psychologically complex as they are hauntingly real. His prose is dense but deliberate, often circling the same thought until it reveals something unsettlingly true. There’s a raw intensity in his writing—a kind of emotional honesty that feels both timeless and uncomfortably close. Though heavy in parts, the novel’s moral weight and psychological insight make it a profoundly edifying experience — one I know I’ll be thinking about for a long time.