Description
Book Synopsis''One death, in exchange for thousands of lives - it''s simple arithmetic!''A new translation of Dostoevsky''s epic masterpiece, Crime and Punishment (1866). The impoverished student Raskolnikov decides to free himself from debt by killing an old moneylender, an act he sees as elevating himself above conventional morality. Like Napoleon he will assert his will and his crime will be justified by its elimination of ''vermin'' for the sake of the greater good. But Raskolnikov is torn apart by fear, guilt, and a growing conscience under the influence of his love for Sonya. Meanwhile the police detective Porfiry is on his trail. It is a powerfully psychological novel, in which the St Petersburg setting, Dostoevsky''s own circumstances, and contemporary social problems all play their part.
Trade ReviewStylistic precision and neatness are qualities of Slater's translation... This is an ideal edition to prescribe for senior high school and undergraduate teaching... Young's Introduction lays a good foundation for readers who are new to Dostoevsky, and neatly covers all the major aspects of the novel in its historical context, within the editorial constraints of a translation. * Slobodanka Vladiv-Glover, Australian Book Review *
Superb... the Oxford University Press edition is beautifully produced and competitively priced. * Donald Rayfield, Times Literary Supplement *
