Crime and Punishment FROM THE PUBLISHER
Crime and Punishment (1866) is the story of a murder committed on principle, of a killer who wishes by his action to set himself outside and above society. A novel of great physical and psychological tension, pervaded by Dostoevsky's sinister evocation of St Petersburg, it also has moments of wild humour. 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.
SYNOPSIS
Reprint of the standard 1914 C. Garnett translation. Cited in Books for College Libraries, 3d ed.
Annotation © Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
AudioFile
Many people consider this title to be the greatest novel ever written. This full-cast dramatization by BBC Radio superbly captures the intensity that is so crucial to the story of Rodion Raskolnikov and the psychological torment he endures following his murder of a money lender and her sister. The adaptation works well on audio because the characters and their voices are clear and well defined. In addition, the performance is true to the novel and easy to follow. While George Guidall's unabridged reading remains the gold standard, listeners who prefer shorter production will find this recording is a solid substitute. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
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