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Nothing in the world is harder than speaking the truth and nothing easier than flattery.
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Let my life go, if only my dear ones may be happy!
My thoughts on Review spoilers, and
ratings may be relevant before you venture below--- the spoiler line ---. Click the [Back] button there to return here if you take a look. Review 675± words.
Rating
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Recommend this classic work of literature. Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov “Rodya,”aka “Rodka” is our protagonist. He's ill throughout most of the novel. The book is primarily about his inner conflict. We come in, he has dropped out of college. You don't know until later but he has had Napoleon on the brain. He developed some ideas about ordinary & extraordinary folks. While still in college he publishes a theory on the topic. Later in the novel this becomes somewhat relevant. When we encounter him, he appears odd. Before long you can assume he's crazy. But is he?
Because often he seems entirely rational. This becomes a theme in the book
Dostoyevsky examines a whole host of psychological ideas in this novel. Primarily expressed by our antagonist of sorts, police inspector Porfiry Petrovich, and our protagonist Raskolnikov.
While the story is a bit slow, the ideas can be rather thought provoking.
I learned long ago that classics are simply worth reading. 'Who's list of classics' can make the "all classics are worth it" a challenge.
And now, I've done my job. I recommended the book, told you generally what it is about. If you haven't heard of the novel, maybe pick up a comic book. When's the new season of Sponge Bob?
I had always heard of Fyodor Dostoyevsky & Tolstoy. This Crime & Punishment read is, for me, directly related to Jordan Peterson. It makes sense he would really like this book. After he had mentioned it in a dozen videos, I thought, "This is on his mind a lot." I decided to read it.
Turns out, it is rather deep, "psychologically" and a lot of it makes more sense than any modern day psychological association's general philosophies.
Generally
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----- Spoiler Line -----
Raskolnikov is struggling over whether to kill the local pawnbroker. He's essentially planned it and believing himself extraordinary, thinks he can get away with it. Why he wants to kill her... Perhaps that's much of what the novel is about.
Of Note
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It seemed to me, the most interesting bits of the novel centered on the antagonists, primarily Porfiry Petrovich, but the whole host of characters and why Dostoyevsky has them in this novel helps him flesh out the plot lines and manages to keep it interesting enough.
Likes / Dislikes
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I liked it when we would encounter long tirades by folks like Petrovich. Razumikhin's chattering can be rather amusing also, much like the ranting io Dox Quixote at places. Alan Munro did the reading for me, and he was absolutely brilliant. I stopped to read the book at points wondering if the dialogue was actually written as Mr. Munro was reading it.
My dislikes are petty. Even childish. I was moaning and groaning because I'm not Russian. The characters were not Bob, Ed, Cathy, John. Rather Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin, Porfiry Petrovich, Ilya Petrovich (unrelated to, I think) Katerina Ivanovna Marmeladov, Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikov, Andrei Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov, Alyona Ivanovna. Believe it or not, culture is important. Trust me. I've lived in a foreign country for years then moved to another country. They call it "Culture Shock". You can get it from books as well.
The Technical
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Critique Info
This is a classic for a number of very good reasons. What comes to mind in a "it's like" thought is War & Peace, 1984, When the Sleeper Wakes, even The Thing From the Lake, although 'why' is mysterious even to me. These are just books that pop into my mind when thinking, "This is like". Perhaps I'm thinking 'mood'?
Conclusion
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It's a classic, can keep you interested throughout, and is thought provoking. Read it.
My oldest brother Bob, who died too young, was going to get himself another college degree by reading. There was some program, if you read this certain list of "Classics" the place would give you a degree in, I forget, but I always thought it likely a very good education if you only sat down and read 100-200 books much like this one.
Read on: January 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 2024
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✒ Written by: Fyodor Dostoevsk
🗣 Read by: Alan Munro
🔊 Format: Digital Audiobook & Ebook
🕑 Run Time: 20:43:00
📚 Length: 516 pages (Varies by edition)
