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Nature Sao Tome and Principe
===IN THE CROSSROADS OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT===
May 20, 2008 12:54 AM 5179 Views
(Updated May 20, 2008 01:54 PM)

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Life’s surprises block our way to progress, true.  But the same circumstances bring the saint out of us some other time.


No man is born as criminal.   Circumstances make one crime.   After all it is fresh air that is what all human beings craving for.     People strive in their gloomy days with Sadness at it peak.  Pride in its infinity - struggle to keep life from the edge of complete destruction - the life would continue.    The crime is done in haste, as a moment’s thoughtless action but its ripples never dies.  Despair forces a criminal to make mistakes where law waits with a Siberia for suffering.


Fyodor Dostoevsky is my favorite author from any language so far.   I have read his novels during my college days.  After 20 plus years when I read CRIME AND PUNISHMENT again I now admit that in the first reading I didn’t absorbed the central principle Dostoevsky put forward nor enjoyed the read like I did this time.


A crime (Killing of a widow and her sister) is committed.   The story center on Raskolnikov, whose circumstances, thought process and helplessness which make him commit the crime.     He was a genius, think differently but he is poor.    In the eyes of Raskolnikov, the widow is doing a great injustice.   He decides to kill the woman to prove himself, to be different, to dare.  He feels that by killing her he is dong a great social justice.    His only sister and mother is coming to the city to visit him with a detective officer who engage his sister, Donia.  Raskolnikov knows very well that the marriage will not be good for his sister and decide to break it.   The crime follows with despair and anxiety which make him feverish and delirious.      The fear, despair follows him everywhere.


He gets in love with Sonia who gave away her flesh to feed the helpless children of step mother.   He gave her the hope and advises her to change her job, if not for the children but for herself.   Love paid back hope.    When he discloses all the secrets to Sonia, she asks him to surrender immediately and take the punishment but for him he feels he didn’t commit any crime.   Story takes interesting turn where another person Svidrigailov who overheard Raskolnikov’s confession to Sonia.   Add to this, Svidrigailov himself have committed a murder and half in the state of Raskolnikov.     A lot of story is there to unfold…the way Dostoevsky unfold is simply beautiful.


For a gripping suspense thriller the book gets a 100/100.  Till the very last page of the book (before the epilogue) the book kept the suspense.  Even in the last minute the story could have gone both the ways then the great writer finished it in style.    My forehead is still filled with the emotion the story left in me. Great work!


Dostoevsky applied different styles of writing in the novel and that made the book a never ending source of styles.  One can find beautiful short stories in it.  Beautiful symbolism and poetry!!   When he describes landscape in rarest occasion we can see the landscape before us and when he describes a girl we will feel as if the girl is standing in front of us.   In his notebook he himself mentioned that he treated Sonia as hope and Svidrigailov as despair.  Then I think it will not be wrong to assume his mother as orthodox mentality and sister as pride, the detective Luzin as law and the old woman the social injustice.


Another beauty of the book is that the central theme is discussed in the middle of the book.   So is the ultimate message of the book, HOPE!    The author, in fact covers the central principle with a beautiful cover of a story which extend to humanity and its mystery.     Poor man’s pride gets exposed.    Hollowness in the preaching by the ’criminals’ ripped apart.  He put the consciousness on top with hope.   The essence of the book is hiding in those 3 or 4 pages but to understand that we have to travel a lot.    While the author tries to explain what is a crime he little bother to explain the punishment.  The Cross of suffering follows him wherever he goes.  The protagonist's suffering is explained in such a way that the reader gets the feel of the punishment but he is not discussing it.


Dostoevsky classify people as two; ordinary people and extra ordinary people.  Ordinary people are supposed to follow law and live as normal citizens.  The extra ordinary people have a right to commit any crime and to transgress the law in any way.    They only need the permission of their consciousness.  (Here Dostoevsky is not referring to all the crimes, but the crimes for the good.)  If they are successful in this endures, the society will treat them as saviors.   If they fail they will be treated as criminals.  The 'powerful' take the law in their hand and kill innocents and preach for peace and cry for humanity.


The major problem for the novel I believe is that the writer gives much importance in justifying the Crime where less importance to Hope.   Even in the last chapters the author’s arguments for crime get stronger where hope gets lighter.  Given the message and flow of the novel the epilogue at least should have pressed on the essence, Hope.  As things stand the message of hope was well explained in the middle with the help of the greatest miracle.   However, I know that Dostoevsky is one author who know the value of Hope as well which he explained well in his other works.  The ultimate hope.  So I can discount the fault.  Another hurdle I had to overcome was that until I get into the story, the Russian names were a hindrance but then he used short names to make things easy.    The book has 485 pages and in small prints.   It is a serious novel, so not recommended for light readers.  However, it is a treasure for all who wish to have a book to think with.


Let me conclude this review with a quote from the book but before that let me tell you, this is a book one should not avoid to read at any cost!


"I am a man because I err!  You never reach any truth without making fourteen mistakes and very likely a hundred and fourteen."


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