Crime and Punishment: Crime and Punishment - Paperback

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Author)

First published in 1866, Crime and Punishment is Fyodor Dostoevsky's profound psychological study of guilt, conscience, and moral responsibility. Set in the impoverished quarters of St. Petersburg, the novel follows Rodion Raskolnikov, a former student who commits a calculated act of murder and then confronts the spiritual and psychological consequences of his crime.

Dostoevsky combines suspense with philosophical inquiry, examining questions of free will, justice, redemption, and the limits of rationalism. Through Raskolnikov's inner turmoil and his encounters with figures such as the steadfast Sonya Marmeladova and the methodical investigator Porfiry Petrovich, the novel explores the tension between intellectual abstraction and lived human suffering. Its narrative moves between fevered introspection and stark realism, capturing both the social hardships of nineteenth-century Russia and the universal drama of moral reckoning.

A cornerstone of Russian literature and a defining work of the modern psychological novel, Crime and Punishment continues to shape discussions of ethics, faith, and the nature of transgression. It remains an essential text for readers of world literature and for those engaged with the philosophical dimensions of fiction.