Crime and Punishment: Translated by Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky Paperback – 20 May 1993

Unquestionably this is the seminal crime and detective novel. In this excellent translation, thenarrative moves breathlessly, providing an unparalleled view into the delusions and flaws of the criminal mind.This is a dark, tragic story of the ultimate redemption of an outsider, rescued by the love and humanity he is initially bereft of.Themes of emerging psychological theories and philosophy run throughout and are explored in an excellent appendix of notes and essay.Together with: ‘Notes from the Underground’, the author offers an insight into Nihilism and utilitarianismA thrilling narrative that twists and turns like the labyrinthine streets of St Petersburg.

Dostoevsky’s task as a novelist is to portray the self-sacrifice of the holy fool in such a way that readers will recognize its beauty and want to participate in it.—Harriet Murov

Perhaps Enjoyable is not the word I would use to describe this book, but from a master storyteller, a portrayal of the terrible crime and disintergation of a young man as well as a window into a world of devastating poverty. It is a love story as well as many other plot strands which (without getting pretentious - who moi?) make for a multilayered complex read. A masterpeice.

Crime and Punishment is my favourite book of all time. I've read the McDuff translation for Penguin 3 times, but this Vintage translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky is the better version. The words fizz from the page, and some of the passages I wasn't keen on in the Penguin edition (Raskolnikov's first encounter with Marmeladov, his visit to Sonia's room) flowed better. The story itself, for those who haven't read it, is the blueprint for psychological thrillers. The psychopath thinks he's committed the perfect crime, but is uncovered by the bumbling but clever investigator. Dostoevsky gets the feverishness of Raskolnikov's monomania across perfectly, marrying it with the power of good as an agent of redemption.

This is brilliant translation. It’s lucid and easy prose make this normally heavy going novel seem like a modern piece of work written in English. You don’t need to look any further for the best translation of Crime and Punishment.The novel itself focuses on a young poor student Raskolnikov and his murder of an old woman. Believing himself to be exempt from the rules of society he attempts to continue on with his life. However his conscience catches up with him and his isolation from other characters drives him mad. It is book of great psychological depth and its main character is one of the most brilliant ever conceived. The story also delivers a powerful climax and it contains such rich ideas that it more than rewards the effort you put into reading it. After I’d finished the book and started something else I realized how much more dimensional Dostoevsky’s work is compared to other authors.

Deservedly a classic. I can't add to what experts have already written, except to say that, if you're contemplating Dostoyevsky for the first time, you shouldn't be put off by the fact it's old and Russian! It's a marvellous study of human nature that successfully makes you really care for a pretty unpleasant person.One thing, though. Choose your translation with care, since that can have a significant impact on your enjoyment of the book. IMHO you can't beat the Pevear and Volokhonsky for fluidity of style and skill of conveying the Russian-ness in a fluent English way. Excellent.

This translation does not read well for me. It may be closer to Russian but a good translation should adapt to it's target language, not be close to a google translation

This is an acclaimed translation, the definitive version for our times.Re this edition, it is a very very fat paperback and hard to hold open.I really hope that the same translation will be reprinted in a hardback edition like their other Dostoevsky translations