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Crime and Punishment (Norton Critical Editions)
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Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Publisher: W. W. Norton
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Our Price: $14.09
You Save: $ 1.56 ( 10% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Average Customer Rating:
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Crime and Punishment (Norton Critical Editions) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 891.733
EAN: 9780393956238
ISBN: 0393956237
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 704
Publication Date: 1989-02-19
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Studio: W. W. Norton
Dewey Decimal Number: 891.733
EAN: 9780393956238
ISBN: 0393956237
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 704
Publication Date: 1989-02-19
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Studio: W. W. Norton
Editorial Review of Crime and Punishment (Norton Critical Editions)
Customer Reviews of Crime and Punishment (Norton Critical Editions)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Among the best ever written
Review: Anyone who disputes the validity of Crime and Punishment as one of the greatest novels written is likely not worth their weight in salt when it comes to literary merit. This novel is the perfect story; ideal premise, gripping suspense that carries over into each following chapter, and with a wealth of depth. This is a complex read, and not for your supermarket variety readers. It needs to be read slowly and carefully so that it will be absorbed and appreciated for it's amazing writing. You won't be able to put it down. All in all it is perfectly executed down to the very last line. It is a must read for anyone who truly enjoys great literature.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Buy the Norton Critical Edition!
Review: The Norton edition features the best translation (Coulson) and a *ton* of critical essays and notes on the novel. Even if you don't normally seek out literary criticism, you'll want to after reading Dostoevsky's story of Raskolnikov and his desperate perversion of the Nietzschean "superman" mentality.
Easy to read, packed with practical philosophy and tragedy-as-spectacle, and thoroughly engrossing. Don't miss it.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: i have no idea
Review: why this book is dosotoevsky's most popular: it is simply his worst. dostoevsky uses the crime of raskolnikov to attack philosophical principles that were circulating in his day: utilitarianism, philosophical determinism, and the idea of "extraordinary" persons who can transgress established laws, stomp on the innocent, etc. in the name of higher principles.
he sets up his attack of utilitarianism brilliantly but ultimately fails because (spoiler) a) the murder of the innocent and pregnant lizaveta destroys the original parameters and b) he does not take the money and put it towards the greater good. so of course, in the end, his crime is heinous and useless. but had he followed through with his original plan, readers might have instead found themselves in a moral gray area, disputing the morality of what he did.
i have talked to far too many people who read c&p and write off dostoevsky as a consequence. the fact is: he is a brilliant, incredibly talented, funny, and fascinating writer. this book does not quite show that. so - if this is your first round with dostoevsky, i would recommend the brothers karamazov or the idiot as opposed to this one. if you have read c&p, please do not judge dostoevsky based on it. give a guy a chance!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: the Coulson translation can't be beat
Review: Just a quick note to point out that if you're gonna read "Crime and Punishment" in English, the Jesse Coulson translation is indisputably the best one published to date.
Avoid at all costs the Garnett translation (as ubiquitous as it is stuffy), and try to keep away from the recently done one, the Pevear and Volokhonsky job (said to be breezy and inaccurate). The Sidney Monas translation (published in the Signet edition) is unimaginative, limp, and lifeless, lacking the oft-remarked vigor of Dostoevsky's prose. No, no: Coulson has never been outdone. Too bad he never did the Brothers K.
The only drawback with the Coulson translation, I must say, is that this guy does inject a lot of British slang, much of which can't be precisely deciphered even with the aid of a good desk dictionary. This is irritating.
However, the clarity and force of his work more than makes up for that shortcoming. He really knows how to make his characters speak differently, his descriptions are vivid and forceful, and the rhythm and dynamism of his prose can really knock you for a loop.
Admittedly, I'm not qualified to state whether all these characteristics were Dostoevsky's own and have merely been faithfully rendered into English by Coulson, or whether Coulson improved upon a stuffy and awkward original, as is perhaps suggested by the plethora of disagreeable translations. All I know is that using this translation will make your descent into Raskolinkov's world much more rewarding and memorable.
I should also note that the Coulson version is the translation employed in the Oxford World's Classics edition, which is also in print and available from Amazon. Naturally, that edition doesn't have all the critical essays the Norton edition has, but its footnotes are far more numerous and superior.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Less a review, more about content in this edition
Review: Everyone knows about C&P; and if you don't, I'm rather surprised you're considering a Norton Critical Edition (regardless, I write this review about the content of this particular edition, and not about how wonderful Dostoevksy is). As usual, the folks at Norton have the best criticism following the text of the novel. From the great writer Tolstoy himself to the brilliant critic Bakhtin, the great literary scholars from all interpretive standpoints offer thoughtful history and criticism of the text. Furthermore, primary documents, including USSR treatises on the teaching of the novel, are also included. For those interested in delving beyond the text of Dostoevsky, Norton has succeeded once again in assembling a powerful lineup of scholarship to accompany a truly great novel.
Review Summary: Among the best ever written
Review: Anyone who disputes the validity of Crime and Punishment as one of the greatest novels written is likely not worth their weight in salt when it comes to literary merit. This novel is the perfect story; ideal premise, gripping suspense that carries over into each following chapter, and with a wealth of depth. This is a complex read, and not for your supermarket variety readers. It needs to be read slowly and carefully so that it will be absorbed and appreciated for it's amazing writing. You won't be able to put it down. All in all it is perfectly executed down to the very last line. It is a must read for anyone who truly enjoys great literature.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Buy the Norton Critical Edition!
Review: The Norton edition features the best translation (Coulson) and a *ton* of critical essays and notes on the novel. Even if you don't normally seek out literary criticism, you'll want to after reading Dostoevsky's story of Raskolnikov and his desperate perversion of the Nietzschean "superman" mentality.
Easy to read, packed with practical philosophy and tragedy-as-spectacle, and thoroughly engrossing. Don't miss it.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: i have no idea
Review: why this book is dosotoevsky's most popular: it is simply his worst. dostoevsky uses the crime of raskolnikov to attack philosophical principles that were circulating in his day: utilitarianism, philosophical determinism, and the idea of "extraordinary" persons who can transgress established laws, stomp on the innocent, etc. in the name of higher principles.
he sets up his attack of utilitarianism brilliantly but ultimately fails because (spoiler) a) the murder of the innocent and pregnant lizaveta destroys the original parameters and b) he does not take the money and put it towards the greater good. so of course, in the end, his crime is heinous and useless. but had he followed through with his original plan, readers might have instead found themselves in a moral gray area, disputing the morality of what he did.
i have talked to far too many people who read c&p and write off dostoevsky as a consequence. the fact is: he is a brilliant, incredibly talented, funny, and fascinating writer. this book does not quite show that. so - if this is your first round with dostoevsky, i would recommend the brothers karamazov or the idiot as opposed to this one. if you have read c&p, please do not judge dostoevsky based on it. give a guy a chance!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: the Coulson translation can't be beat
Review: Just a quick note to point out that if you're gonna read "Crime and Punishment" in English, the Jesse Coulson translation is indisputably the best one published to date.
Avoid at all costs the Garnett translation (as ubiquitous as it is stuffy), and try to keep away from the recently done one, the Pevear and Volokhonsky job (said to be breezy and inaccurate). The Sidney Monas translation (published in the Signet edition) is unimaginative, limp, and lifeless, lacking the oft-remarked vigor of Dostoevsky's prose. No, no: Coulson has never been outdone. Too bad he never did the Brothers K.
The only drawback with the Coulson translation, I must say, is that this guy does inject a lot of British slang, much of which can't be precisely deciphered even with the aid of a good desk dictionary. This is irritating.
However, the clarity and force of his work more than makes up for that shortcoming. He really knows how to make his characters speak differently, his descriptions are vivid and forceful, and the rhythm and dynamism of his prose can really knock you for a loop.
Admittedly, I'm not qualified to state whether all these characteristics were Dostoevsky's own and have merely been faithfully rendered into English by Coulson, or whether Coulson improved upon a stuffy and awkward original, as is perhaps suggested by the plethora of disagreeable translations. All I know is that using this translation will make your descent into Raskolinkov's world much more rewarding and memorable.
I should also note that the Coulson version is the translation employed in the Oxford World's Classics edition, which is also in print and available from Amazon. Naturally, that edition doesn't have all the critical essays the Norton edition has, but its footnotes are far more numerous and superior.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Less a review, more about content in this edition
Review: Everyone knows about C&P; and if you don't, I'm rather surprised you're considering a Norton Critical Edition (regardless, I write this review about the content of this particular edition, and not about how wonderful Dostoevksy is). As usual, the folks at Norton have the best criticism following the text of the novel. From the great writer Tolstoy himself to the brilliant critic Bakhtin, the great literary scholars from all interpretive standpoints offer thoughtful history and criticism of the text. Furthermore, primary documents, including USSR treatises on the teaching of the novel, are also included. For those interested in delving beyond the text of Dostoevsky, Norton has succeeded once again in assembling a powerful lineup of scholarship to accompany a truly great novel.