Crime and Punishment

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, David Rintoul (Narrator)

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 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. Only Sonya, a downtrodden sex worker, can offer the chance of redemption.

Dostoyevsky's penetrating novel of an intellectual whose moral compass goes haywire, and the detective who hunts him down for his terrible crime, is a stunning psychological portrait, a thriller, and a profound meditation on guilt and retribution.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a Russian novelist, journalist, and short-story writer who had an immense influence on 20th-century fiction. He is commonly regarded as one of the finest novelists who ever lived, penning classics that Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, and The Brothers Karamazov. His ideas profoundly shaped literary modernism, existentialism, and various schools of psychology, theology, and literary criticism.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Philosophy, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published October 27, 2023

About the author

Alternate spelling, see main profile Fyodor Dostoevsky

Reviews

[Jake Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must’ve been something in the water in Russia in the 19th century because just banger after banger. Tolstoys GOAT status might be in trouble tbh. But I could not put this down, so unbelievably gripping. Setting the story itself aside, it was really interesting to see how many psychological thrillers in the modern day lean heavily on this book (big one being American Psycho).

My biggest complaint though - this MFer is sick A LOT like half the book I’m like go outside and touch some grass my guy.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, I get why it’s a classic. Just a little (lot?) melancholy for what I really enjoy reading. I also felt that almost none of the characters were relatable. Raskolnikov is a frustrating dude even taking his crime out of the equation.

But I gave this book four stars for a reason. It really is a captivating, if gloomy, cat and mouse story and interesting to see how the different characters interact with one another. I thought Dostoyesky’s parody of socialism in the character of Lebeziatnikov was cheeky and kind of fun. Who doesn’t love the trajectory of Sonia’s story?

And I like happy endings so the epilogue was a nice way to end.

[Arpi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got me out of my reading slump, I couldn't put it down for four hours before I finished it...it's an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, perspectives, actions, behaviors but it allows you to appreciate all of the good and all of the bad that this world has to offer. Literal psychological back-and-forth, definitely recommend.

[Mario Trasnea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book honestly, I love it. Just goes so deep, with excellent characters and character development, also the plot is really well written imo. This book is structured in 6 Parts, in the 1st being the crime and the other The Punishment. I can’t begin to explain in words the complexity of Dostoyevsky’s analogy on the human psyche. DELIRIUM!

[Albert Myburgh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am convinced that there is nothing I can say about this perfect piece of literature that has not been said before. it does not need my review. It only needs to exist. Maybe someday I will say something about it anyway, but not today.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to live myself or else better not to live at all

[Charlotte Lepage · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Could this be the punishment already beginning?” - what a freaking whirlwind.

[Tenika Fontana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this specifically because I was curious about Will Poulter narrating it. He did a very good job, I applaud him for the different voices he gave all the characters, even the one-off single liners and drunken slurs lol. He made this book even more enjoyable.

Book is of course a classic and a great insight to the human condition.