Crime and Punishment (Audio Connoisseur Edition)

By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett - translator

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

This magnificent novel is about the murder of a miserly, aged pawnbroker and her younger sister by a radical, destitute St. Petersburg student named Raskolnikov, and the emotional, mental, and physical effects that follow. It is a remarkable masterpiece about a man's turbulent inner life and his relationship to others and to society at large. Dostoevsky explored the human condition on many levels in this great piece, and among the main themes the novel explores is the rather strange theory that criminals have a spiritual need to be punished - that indeed they demand it. Today we might think of this as masochism and dismiss Dostoevsky's thesis as the powerful wanderings of a mind steeped in the mysticism of the Eastern Orthodox Church. But this wonderful classic is far more complex.

Raskolnikov the intellectual divides humanity into two types: the meek, submissive mass of mankind and the "Supermen". The Nietzschean Superman can violate any law or principle to attain his beneficial ends. Since Raskolnikov has allied himself with the Superman, he intends to prove his superiority by committing a murder without remorse by eliminating an "undesirable" person.

The novel's central question is whether it is justifiable to commit an atrocity in order to improve humanity. Dostoevsky shows us that a person cannot control and direct his life solely with his reason and intellect, that free will is limited. Listen as one of the finest psychological novels ever written unfolds.

Translated by Constance Garnett.

Public Domain (P)2007 Audio Connoisseur

A complex masterpiece; often irritating narration!

What did you love best about Crime and Punishment (Audio Connoisseur Edition)?

Dostoevsky's novel is so rich in its moral complexities. It is also virtually double plotted and almost Dickensian in its narrative breadth and social consciousness. If one has read it before, one perhaps forgets that the axe murderer, Raskolnikov, and the detective, Porfiry Petrovich, are not the only characters. The large canvas includes the professionally licensed prostitute, Sonia; the child molester, Svidrigailov; the pompous manipulator, Luzhin; and the self loathing alcoholic, Marmelodov. The book abounds in fantastic scenes, some of them (as in the case of Katarina's dinner party) hilarious in a characterically dark Russian way.

What did you like best about this story?

It is endlessly thought provoking and richly detailed. I love the grotesque humor -- such as Raskolnikov's sister, Dunya, trying to shoot her tormentor at close range and repeatedly missing. But it is really the central hero's Superman complex that fascinates the most. And the fact it really takes him most of the novel to get over it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Charlton Griffin?

Despite his ultra-dignified and impeccable English diction, Charlton Griffin cannot resist adopting an artificially modulated melodramatic tone, and his falsetto characterizations of the women make them all sound exactly like Mickey Mouse. If not Mickey, then Minnie. It is absolutely intolerable to this listener! It's like hearing Francis Flute the Bellows-Mender play Thisbe.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The book is grim with many strokes of black Russian humor. The fact that Edward Snowden's Russian lawyer gave him this novel to read in the Moscow Airport Transit zone is a joke worthy of a scene in Dostoevsky! The book's many comic moments -- in fact the whole ironic Russian mind-set that informs them -- go over most people's heads. I do not find anything in it moving. It's all grotesque. Look for something moving and sentimental stuff elsewhere. That said, Dunya and the charming student, Razumikhin, become a touching couple.

Any additional comments?

The novel is an essential masterpiece. The production is professionally done. But with all the narrator's women sounding like squeaking mice, you may want to scream and open a real book instead. By the way, that's Bartok being used for the occasional bits of music.

this story could had so much potential

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

yes it was.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

rodia second guessing himself. the vagueness of some of the events. there was so much potential. i find the russian characters having more than one name annoying and consusing as in anna karennina.

Which scene was your favorite?

when rodia was at the pawn lady's and the events afterward.

Could you see Crime and Punishment (Audio Connoisseur Edition) being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

a movie yes. tv series no. i have no idea who could star. they would need to be more specific.

Any additional comments?

i have concluded that russian authors seem to be awfully wordy saying too much and not enough. it was not a waste of time but just not for me. i wanted to read it and i did. the naration was very good.

Great plot of human turmoil, beware.

At first I was wondering why I bought this book, though I do like them with lots of hours. Yes pretty silly requirement. This book got better after a few hours and lots better the longer it went on, as it takes allot of time to get into the book fully. Sets itself up very well , but you must listen closely , this is not a simple read and haves a very intriguing ending that is full of surprises and lots of emotion and conflict. For a book being over 150 year old what a psychology wonder encompassing most of the human emotions we our capable of.

amazing narrator

The narrator for this book is absolutely fabulous. The book is still "Crime and Punishment" but Mr. Griffin makes it absolutely entertaining and saves the day.

Perfect narrator!

Simply amazing narrator! Charlton Griffin, with his mellifluous voice and always-clear perfect diction, breathes new life into this classic Russian novel. He performs every speaker - even women's voices - with artistry, interest, and believability to such an extent that even some of the minor characters (who would ordinarily get lost in the story or seem boring) become interesting. I can't imagine trying to listen to this otherwise long, dark story without the kind of masterful narration that Mr. Griffin gives us. (I will surely seek out all of his narrations!) Anyway, if you are interested in (finally?) delving into this classic, I highly recommend this truly outstanding version!

Involving and convincing.

I had read the book many years ago, but remembered only that I struggled through the difficult literature, often losing the story line. So I bought the Audiobook to listen to it again and have to admit, I was surprised at the ease with wich the narrator relayed the story. The story is not easy to follow, with difficult emotions, thought processes and circumstances to picture in one's imagination. I think the narrator does an excellent job at involving and convincing the listener of these difficult aspects of the book. Raskolnikov (the main character) is an obscure character in even more obscure circumstances. Throughout the events of the book, his emotions and thought processes take the listener on a journey of the human condition focussing on questions that are still relevant and un-answered today. It culminates in an unexpectedly "correct" yet strangely unfortunate ending, leaving the listener with an appetite to know what happened during the remainder of his exile and thereafter.

As for the author, Dostoyevsky, all I can say is that the story could not have been written without deep, real, personal experiences which are difficult to recreate in the way that he does. I would not want to delete a single explanation or description given throughout the story as it would undermine the overall experience.

A true classic, and very satisfactorily relayed.

Crime and Punishment

Very long and I did not enjoy it as much as I did reading it years ago. It became a chorus to finish it.

Fantastic!

Listened and relistned and relistened! Love this book! It is one of my FAVORITES! GREAT!

it's a classic

Great performance. I enjoyed the story, although it got a little long and drawn out in the end.

Crime Pays for the Reader

Crime and Punishment is one of the hallmarks in literature, and a major hole in my own knowledge, and so I was pleased to find this production engaging and entertaining. The story itself is well-known; boy commits crime, boy meets girl, boy goes crazy, and girl commits herself to the boy. What that sketch fails to draw out is the psychological aspects of the novel that are at play, which are also mocked in the questioning and investigation of the crime. For those less familiar with Russian literature, there may be some difficulty in following the characters as the names are quite similar and each character has three or four names by which he/she is referred. But to see the transformation of R throughout the novel from logical mastermind to bumbling criminal to crazed offender to penitent prisoner is worth the effort and time. And bonus is that the funeral banquet scene might be the most comic scene I have ever read in literature.