Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoevsky

Before I read Crime and Punishment all that I had heard about Feodor Dostoevsky was that he was a Russian author and, whereas Tolstoy understood legalism, Dostoevsky understood grace. I’ve since found out that he is also considered one of the greatest psychological novelists. All of this came through in Crime and Punishment which explores, in intense detail, the mental state and processes of a man before, during and after committing a premeditated murder in 19th century St Petersburg. The darkness of Raskolnikov’s desperation and self-justification dominates the story but is interwoven with a number of other characters who provide glimmers of hope, particularly the prostitute Sonya and Raskolnikov’s faithful friend, Razumikhin. Not a light-hearted book and took a little while to get into but intriguing and challenging and beautifully written. Also a lot fewer characters than the average Russian novel!