2019 #BIyearofclassics
This year, I set a reading goal to get some of the “should reads” off of my TBR shelf. My “should read” books are the classics that I felt as if I should have read in high school or college. My goal for 2019 is to get 12 of those book titles off of my TBR list and onto my ‘Read’ Shelf by reading one title a month.
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January’s pick was Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.
February’s pick was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
This month’s pick is Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Why I chose this book:
This book is on almost all of the “Best novels” lists including:
Greatestbooks.org list of 50 best fiction books – #16
The Atlantic’s Top Ten Works of the 19th Century – #9
The Great American Reads – #64
I love the psychology around crime drama and this book sounds like it has that in abundance. The main character, Rodion, kills someone and then tries to justify to himself what he has done. But it haunts him. This sounds very Poe-like to me, and is one of my favorite kinds of reads!
I love suspense in a novel.
I haven’t read many books set in Russia, and I love to read books in different settings.
What is the story about? (summary from Amazon)
Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in Saint Petersburg who formulates a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money. Before the killing, Raskolnikov believes that with the money he could liberate himself from poverty and go on to perform great deeds; but confusion, hesitation, and chance muddy his plan for a morally justifiable killing.
Here are some questions (taken from Classics Reading Group) I will be thinking about as I read:
- Who is/are the villain(s) in the novel? Consider all the characters: Raskolnikov, Marmeladov, Svidrigailov, Luzhin, Zamyatov, Razumikin.
- Do you find the females to be well-rounded or stereotypes? Consider Sonya, Dunya, Katarina Ivanovna.
- What is the “crime” of the title?
- What punishment(s) come about in the novel?
- In confessing the murder to Sonya, Raskolnikov claims, “Did I really kill the old woman? No, it was myself I killed…. And as for the old woman, it was the Devil who killed her, not I.” (p. 488) What does he mean by this? What motive does Raskolnikov give for his murder? Why does he confess to Sonya? Why doesn’t the confession ease him of his inner torment?
- Why does Raskolnikov claim Sonya is necessary to him?
- How does “coincidence” play in to the novel? Did “chance” make the novel less plausible for you?
- How does religious redemption play a role in the novel? Is this a religious novel?
How this will work:
Throughout the month, I will be posting quotes, thoughts about the book and answers to some of the questions above on Instagram.
You can join me by following me @bookishinspiration or the hashtag #BIyearofclassics
On March 25, I will post about my reading of Crime and Punishment on my blog. This will include my thoughts about the book, answers to some of the questions above, and other “research” I conducted around the book or the author throughout the month.
I hope that you will enjoy reading along with me and discussing the book, or at least following along on my classics adventure!
If you would like to see the complete list of my #BIyearofclassics, click here.
Thanks for visiting the blog today. Until next time, happy reading!
I read it twenty years ago and I liked it very much then but now, I am afraid I do not remember so much of it. I can remember Raskolnikov and Sonya pretty well but I forgot all the other characters.
I know! I can barely remember the details of the books I read last month let alone in high school! I am excited to read this one because even if I had read this then, I think I will appreciate it more now. We shall see! Thanks for following along!
I’m excited to hear what you think of this one! CRIME AND PUNISHMENT is one of my absolute favorites. I read it in high school, and I hated it at first, but then I became obsessed with it. It’s def a dense read, so I think it really helps to have a reading group guide (or a teacher!) while you read so you don’t miss many of the hidden nuances of the novel. And the character names just drive me nuts, in the best way! haha, I remember when my teacher first asked us about “Svidrigailov,” and we were all like, “….Who?!?!?!” And she was like “The guy who blah-blah-blah” (no spoilers here, haha), and we were like, “Ohhh, okay!” because we had not been able to figure out how to pronounce his name while we were reading the book, hahaha. Ah, youth. 🙂 I hope you enjoy C&P as much as I did!
Thank you! It’s a long one, but I’ve heard it’s an excellent read. So far, so good on my reading challenge. I have finished my classic book each month. But my first two were much shorter. This is my first real test of endurance! I will let you know how it goes.