I’ve now moved on to my next classic read which is Crime and Punishment. Again, I know nothing about this so I’m going in very blind. I’m one chapter away from finishing part 1 and I feel so confused. I feel like this is going to be a very introspective book as our main character, Raskolnikov is talking about something that has happened, a crime he may of committed, but he doesn’t remember doing it, but he’s also getting these flashes that he did it. I feel like there’s a lot happening right now. I’m also finding it’s a tad repetitive and I’m wondering if that’s to help the reader understand better. I need to read more to really fully embrace this one. So far though, I’m compelled to read more because I’m very intrigued by the plot. 

 

I’m just shy of part 3 now… I feel like my brain is broken reading this. I feel utterly confused. Is Raskolnikov seeing people?! We keep going back to the fact that he’s sick… but I’m starting to wonder if he’s mentally sick and not physically sick. Like who are these other characters that it feels like only he interacts with, who claim he’s committed a murder. At this point I think I have more questions than answers. I’m still enjoying this, but man is it a mind trip to read. I also don’t want to Google anything because I don’t want to spoil the story either. I’ve done that before. So I’ll continue on my merry way into the oblivion. 

 

I’m in the midst of part 3 and the story has gotten so much better! We were introduced to Raskolnikov’s mother and sister through a letter chapters earlier, and now they’ve made an appearance and I’m loving it! I’m loving the way it creates this dynamic for Raskolnikov. So I was wrong in my thoughts last week… I kinda thought I would be, but it was all so confusing that that’s where my brain went. Anyways, Razumíhin and Zossímov are real and not figments of Raskolnikov’s imagination. The way Razumíhin talks to Raskolnikov’s sister, Avdótya, was hilarious! I’m definitely more interested in this story now and I’m very curious to see where it goes! 

 

I’m coming to the end of part 4, there are 6 parts in total, plus the epilogue, and I can see that the plots are starting to try and come together. I’m not really sure what is going to happen to Raskolnikov, or what to make of him. I know I’m over the halfway point now, but he’s such a mysterious character. He’s got flaws that’s for sure and the way he gives internal monologues really lets us into his head. So are we now led to believe that he’s trying to convince Sonia that she’s mad too? That they’re going to go run off together? There are so many balancing acts happening right now that I’m very curious how everything is going to pull together. 

 

Every week I’m just shy of finishing another part, and wow are things heating up as we come to a close on part 5. There’s an incident with Sonia, everyone thinks she stole 100 rubles… but did she really? And then we get Raskolnikov’s confession to Sonia about what he’s done… but I’m still not 100% convinced he did it. Everything still seems kinda sketchy, especially when it comes to Lúhin or Lebeziátnikov, those two are very interesting. We know very little about them and they come in disturbing everything. I’m on the edge of my seat to find out what will happen next with Raskolnikov. Let’s just say that the plot has thickened! 

 

I now fear for Dounia, Raskolnikov’s sister. Svidrigàilov has been formally introduced as a character and wow is he ever something. He gives me the creeps, and I feel like it’s for the right reasons. She confronts him about her brother, she doesn’t believe his confession, and believes Svidrigàilov is behind it all, and just before she said it… I had the same light bulb, jaw dropping moment of realization! This story is really heating up now. I’ve got 3 chapters and the epilogue left. I’m so curious how this is all going to go down. I hope to be back next week with my final thoughts! 

 

This novel broke me. I decided to do a reading comprehension quiz after finishing because I was so lost. So it turns out I comprehended roughly 60% of the book, which isn’t bad. All this time I thought that Raskolnikov wasn’t guilty… welp! Dostoevsky did a great job of keeping the reader guessing and after reading and going back a bit, there were definitely clues as to how Raskolnikov could have been behind it all from the start. I like that it wasn’t so black and white and that we got a good in depth look at this character and what went on in his head. I’d like to reread this book at another point in time to really pick up on everything that I felt like I missed this time around. It was so good, but this is one of those books that needs a good reading a few times to truly grasp its meaning. I’d highly recommend!