Any other book with a murder in it’s plot takes you through identifying the murderer and the crime, but only a classic takes you through the criminal’s mind! Here the crime is not the murder but the fact that Raskolnikov’s pride and intellectualism leading him to disrespect the rest of humanity, and the punishment is not just a jail sentence but Raskolnikov’s guilt that torments him after he murders Alyona Ivanovna and Lizaveta and his recurring faintness at the mention of the murders.
This book can be divided in two parts, one following the inner turmoil of a murderer and the other showing the destruction of a family due to a flighty, alcoholic patriarch. There are some incredible scenes that will forever haunt and delight me in my memory, such as the narrow escape from the scene of the crime which had me holding my breath in anxious anticipation, the darkly comical disaster of the funeral feast, or the emotionally charged and grim meeting between Dunya and the vile Svidrigaïlov. Each character is carefully balanced with their foil, each character is written with their own unique style of speech and language, and the novel seems to tie every thread together with such perfection and care as it churns forward, raining destruction on the lives of it’s characters to bring them towards their own personal redemption.
Fact remains I loved this work of Russian literature! My Russian friend from my post-graduation has recommended more Russian works, so I need to find and read them all.
The Bora Booktique 
Always wanted to read it… will pick it up next I guess.. 🖒
Russian literature indeed is interesting but reading classics and doing justice to them, needs time and space… can you check and recommend some more contemporary Russian writers 😎
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True. Russian literature needs time to comprehend. But this one was too good. And it was fast too. I have Russian friends who can recommend some good reads!
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