Crime and PunishmentCrime and Punishment
Score Classic
What it's about
Rodion Raskolnikov is a poor former student in St. Petersburg who convinces himself that an extraordinary man has the right to commit a crime for a greater good. To prove his theory, he murders an elderly pawnbroker with an axe and, by accident, her sister too. The rest of the novel follows him as he tries to live with what he has done, through fever, paranoia and a cat-and-mouse game with a clever police investigator, and his growing bond with Sonya, a young woman forced into prostitution to feed her family.
Why it's worth reading
It's one of the greatest psychological novels ever written, on the Bokklubben World Library of the greatest books and a PBS Great American Read pick. It reads like a thriller even though you know who did it from the start.
You'll love it if you liked
The Brothers Karamazov
The Idiot
The TrialGood to know
Russian names can be confusing, since characters go by several versions; a character list helps. A modern translation reads much more easily.
By the numbers
- Readers90 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics55 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller55 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #14 of the 555 mysteries and thrillers we rank
- #67 of the 762 classics we rank
- #201 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Gripping
More by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karamazov
DemonsThe Idiot
Notes From UndergroundIf you like this, read next
The Godfather
The Pillars of the Earth
In Cold Blood
Rebecca
The Name of the Rose
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Quick answers
Is Crime and Punishment worth reading?
Yes. It's one of the greatest psychological novels ever written, on the Bokklubben World Library of the greatest books and a PBS Great American Read pick. It ranks #201 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 83.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Crime and Punishment about?
Rodion Raskolnikov is a poor former student in St. Petersburg who convinces himself that an extraordinary man has the right to commit a crime for a greater good. To prove his theory, he murders an elderly pawnbroker with an axe and, by accident, her sister too. The rest of the novel follows him as he tries to live with what he has done, through fever, paranoia and a cat-and-mouse game with a clever police investigator, and his growing bond with Sonya, a young woman forced into prostitution to feed her family.
How long does it take to read Crime and Punishment?
About 13 hours (536 pages), or about 4 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Crime and Punishment?
If you liked it, try The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky or The Trial by Franz Kafka.