Dostoyevsky, Fyodor

Crime and Punishment (Enriched Classics)

The talented Alex Jennings creates an atmosphere of gripping psychological tension and brings a variety of characters to life in this new audio edition of a crime classic. When the student Raskolnikov puts his philosophical theory to the ultimate test of murder, a tragic tale of suffering and redemption unfolds in the dismal setting of the slums of czarist, prerevolutionary St. Petersburg. While Jennings's adept repertoire of British accents works to demonstrate the varying classes of characters, it occasionally distracts the listener from the Russian setting. However, Dostoyevsky's rendering of 18th-century Russia emerges unscathed, bringing the dark pathos (such as wretched poverty and rampant suffering) to life. (Running time: 315 minutes; 4 cassettes)

Dostoyevsky's penetrating study of a man for whom the distinction between right and wrong disappears, and a riveting portrait of guilt and retribution.

• A concise introduction that gives readers important background information

• A chronology of the author's life and work

• A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context

• An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations

• Detailed explanatory notes

• Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work

• Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction

• A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience

This epic tells the story of Raskolnikov, a student who believes he is superior and entitled. He commits a crime and the book traces his downfall. After being shipped off to Siberia for a prison sentence, Raskolnikov finds suffering to be a means by which the soul is purified of all its sins.

With the help of CliffsNotes you'll understand the overall structure of the work, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author.

Crime and Punishment

With the same suppleness, energy, and range of voices that won their translation of The Brothers Karamazov the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Prize, Pevear and Volokhonsky offer a brilliant translation of Dostoevsky's classic novel that presents a clear insight into this astounding psychological thriller. "The best (translation) currently available"--Washington Post Book World.

Notes From Underground

This collection showcases Dostoyevsky's evolving outlook on man's fate. The compelling works presented here were written at distinct periods in the author's life, at decisive moments in his groping for a political philosophy and a religious answer.

Includes: Notes from Underground, White Nights, The Dreams of a Ridiculous Man, and selections from The House of the Dead.

I am a sick man. ... I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I believe my liver is diseased. However, I know nothing at all about my disease, and do not know for certain what ails me. I don't consult a doctor for it, and never have, though I have a respect for medicine and doctors. Besides, I am extremely superstitious, sufficiently so to respect medicine, anyway (I am well-educated enough not to be superstitious, but I am superstitious). No, I refuse to consult a doctor from spite. That you probably will not understand. Well, I understand it, though. Of course, I can't explain who it is precisely that I am mortifying in this case by my spite: I am perfectly well aware that I cannot "pay out" the doctors by not consulting them; I know better than anyone that by all this I am only injuring myself and no one else. But still, if I don't consult a doctor it is from spite. My liver is bad, well - let it get worse! I have been going on like that for a long time - twenty years. Now I am forty. I used to be in the government service, but am no longer. I was a spiteful official. I was rude and took pleasure in being so. I did not take bribes, you see, so I was bound to find a recompense in that, at least. (A poor jest, but I will not scratch it out. I wrote it thinking it would sound very witty; but now that I have seen myself that I only wanted to show off in a despicable way, I will not scratch it out on purpose!)

Crime and Punishment (Signet Classics)

The poverty-stricken Raskolnikov, believing he is exempt from moral law, murders a man only to face the consequences not only from society but from his conscience, in this seminal story of justice, morality, and redemption from one of Russia's greatest novelists.

The Grand Inquisitor: With Related Chapters from the Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov (Giant Thrifts)

Notes from Underground; The Double (Penguin Classics)

Unabridged audiobook in MP3 format.

Great Short Works of Fyodor Dostoevsky (Perennial Classics)

The shorter works of one of the world's greatest writers, including The Gambler and Notes from Underground

The short works of Dostoevsky exist in the very large shadow of his astonishing longer novels, but they too are among literature's most revered works. The Gambler chronicles Dostoevsky's own addiction, which he eventually overcame. Many have argued that Notes from Underground contains several keys to understanding the themes of the longer novels, such as Crime and Punishment and The Idiot.

Great Short Works of Fyodor Dostoevsky includes:

Notes from Underground
The Gambler
A Disgraceful Affair
The Eternal Husband
The Double
White Nights
A Gentle Creature
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

The Brothers Karamazov: A Novel in Four Parts and an Epilogue (Penguin Classics)

Translated with an Introduction by David McDuff.

The Brothers Karamazov (Vintage Classics)

A new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. This acclaimed new English version of Dostoevsky's last novel does justice to all its levels of artistry and intention.