There’s not much to say about Crime and Punishment that hasn’t already been said. The novel’s a wonderfully complex piece of work. Some of the praise on the back of the edition I read makes this clear - as a book that blows Victorian-era literature out of the water, and very intense in its exploration of themes.
At the suggestion of a classmate, I avoided the translation by Constance Garnett. I instead found a copy of the 2017 translation by Prof. Michael Katz of Middlebury College to read. Oftentimes when translations are dated, it’s not difficult to spot passages that haven’t aged particularly well. Katz’s translation feels modern - though at points it does feel antiquated, the English is flowy and this is no small feat. I cannot compare Katz’s translation with Garnett’s or Pevear and Volokhonsky’s adaptation - but I think this is very close to a definitive adaptation. Translation work can make or break a novel, and this rendition was captivating.
A particularly touching part of the novel that stuck with me is near the end, where Raskolnikov (the protagonist) speaks with his mother. I’m not going to spoil it, but the translation work and prose in this small section was a highlight of the book, for how clearly the characters’ emotions were rendered in English. Stunning.
Recommended by Srishti; 5/5
Written 27 September 2022 Adapted from my review on Goodreads.