Crime & Punishment: This book sucks!

[Triumph]

Seriously, I'm about 400 pages into this book, struggling all the way through, and I can't stand it. Every single character is so bipolar as to make the story unreadable. It's like watching a really really bad movie. And you ever see those threads around here where the poster doesn't seperate his thoughts into distinct paragraphs? Well Dostoyevsky's got a corner on that market; paragraphs that are several pages long! This book is so disjointed, so lacking in any sort of action, so lacking in any sort of consistency of character, that it's practically unreadable. Give me a reason to continue.

 

[kleinesarschloch]

i think you might be better served with, lets say, a steven seagal (sp?) movie, which will provide plenty of action and very consistent characters. ;-)

 

[djheater]

You're right it's terrible, move along.

 

[pyonir]

it is a very hard book to read, but i would hardly classify it as a terrible book.

 

[Reel]

I think it is an excellent book in terms of the themes and characters. Granted, it does not spoonfeed the story to you, but that is what makes for an excellent novel, something that is thought-provoking. While a simple Star Wars type storyline with pure good and evil characters can be entertaining, it does not provide the flavor this style of character has.

 

[ElFenix]

raskolnikov > all

you know what book sucks? crossroads of twilight. i'm 350 pages into it and absolutely nothing has happened. people say tolkien likes to describe every last minute detail but he was making just passing remarks compared to robert jordan.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: kleinesarschloch
i think you might be better served with, lets say, a steven seagal (sp?) movie, which will provide plenty of action and very consistent characters. ;-)

haha, i'm not THAT unintelligent! seriously though, arguments like, "You're stupid if you don't like this book!" are elitist and pretentious. i understand the major themese of the book, inner torture, self doubt, overconfidence, redemption... but i really dislike how it is presented. Raskolnikov's mood will switch 7 times in a paragraph. first he loves his sister, then he never wants to see her again. the same goes for all of the other characters. it seems difficult just for the sake of being difficult.

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: Triumph

Originally posted by: kleinesarschloch
i think you might be better served with, lets say, a steven seagal (sp?) movie, which will provide plenty of action and very consistent characters. ;-)

haha, i'm not THAT unintelligent! seriously though, arguments like, "You're stupid if you don't like this book!" are elitist and pretentious. i understand the major themese of the book, inner torture, self doubt, overconfidence, redemption... but i really dislike how it is presented. Raskolnikov's mood will switch 7 times in a paragraph. first he loves his sister, then he never wants to see her again. the same goes for all of the other characters. it seems difficult just for the sake of being difficult.

It's popularly considered a work of great merit because it is. I'm not saying one should not challenge assumptions, at the same time at least TRY and see why those assumptions are in place, which you can't have done because it IS a GREAT work.

Try Proust you whiner.

 

[Dacalo]

i think the book is excellent and depicts the bipolar struggles we face everyday

i read like 3 times and i still love it

 

[Desslok]

Originally posted by: Triumph
Seriously, I'm about 400 pages into this book, struggling all the way through, and I can't stand it. Every single character is so bipolar as to make the story unreadable. It's like watching a really really bad movie. And you ever see those threads around here where the poster doesn't seperate his thoughts into distinct paragraphs? Well Dostoyevsky's got a corner on that market; paragraphs that are several pages long! This book is so disjointed, so lacking in any sort of action, so lacking in any sort of consistency of character, that it's practically unreadable. Give me a reason to continue.

I will give you credit for trying, it is a very hard book to read. At the same time to say it sucks is so childish and lacking that it is sad.

 

[agnitrate]

I thought it was one of the only books I ever read throughout high school that was actually interesting to read.

-silver

 

[Triumph]

ok, it doesn't suck (I use that word judiciously), it certainly has it's place in literary history, and as a discussion of Russian society during the 19th century. but reading reviews of it, some claim it is a "harrowing tale of the mind of a killer on the brink of insanity," which it absolutely is not harrowing for me. it is not spine tingling (which some reviews claim), even when placed against other novels of the time (edgar allen poe). that being said, i don't expect it to be a full blown thriller, i realize it is supposed to be more than that. so instead of attacking me personally, why don't you post your opinions of why it IS supposed to be so good?

 

[dolph]

Originally posted by: Triumph
ok, it doesn't suck (I use that word judiciously), it certainly has it's place in literary history, and as a discussion of Russian society during the 19th century. but reading reviews of it, some claim it is a "harrowing tale of the mind of a killer on the brink of insanity," which it absolutely is not harrowing for me. it is not spine tingling (which some reviews claim), even when placed against other novels of the time (edgar allen poe). that being said, i don't expect it to be a full blown thriller, i realize it is supposed to be more than that. so instead of attacking me personally, why don't you post your opinions of why it IS supposed to be so good?

why is it so important for us to convince you that it's good? most liked it, you didn't. you haven't finished yet, maybe your opinion of it will change once you're done. why don't you give it some time and tell us you still didn't like it after you've read the whole book instead of forming your judgement on it halfway through? maybe you'll think differently later. but even if you don't, then it's not such a big deal. de gustibus non dispuntandum est.

 

[compudog]

It is a difficult book to read but important.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: dolph

Originally posted by: Triumph
ok, it doesn't suck (I use that word judiciously), it certainly has it's place in literary history, and as a discussion of Russian society during the 19th century. but reading reviews of it, some claim it is a "harrowing tale of the mind of a killer on the brink of insanity," which it absolutely is not harrowing for me. it is not spine tingling (which some reviews claim), even when placed against other novels of the time (edgar allen poe). that being said, i don't expect it to be a full blown thriller, i realize it is supposed to be more than that. so instead of attacking me personally, why don't you post your opinions of why it IS supposed to be so good?

why is it so important for us to convince you that it's good? most liked it, you didn't. you haven't finished yet, maybe your opinion of it will change once you're done. why don't you give it some time and tell us you still didn't like it after you've read the whole book instead of forming your judgement on it halfway through? maybe you'll think differently later. but even if you don't, then it's not such a big deal. de gustibus non dispuntandum est.

because i want some motivation to finish it. i started it this past summer, got 100 pages in, disliked it, started it from scratch again, pushed to the point I am now at, and i'm still disappointed with it.

 

[Reel]

Originally posted by: dolph

Originally posted by: Triumph
ok, it doesn't suck (I use that word judiciously), it certainly has it's place in literary history, and as a discussion of Russian society during the 19th century. but reading reviews of it, some claim it is a "harrowing tale of the mind of a killer on the brink of insanity," which it absolutely is not harrowing for me. it is not spine tingling (which some reviews claim), even when placed against other novels of the time (edgar allen poe). that being said, i don't expect it to be a full blown thriller, i realize it is supposed to be more than that. so instead of attacking me personally, why don't you post your opinions of why it IS supposed to be so good?

why is it so important for us to convince you that it's good? most liked it, you didn't. you haven't finished yet, maybe your opinion of it will change once you're done. why don't you give it some time and tell us you still didn't like it after you've read the whole book instead of forming your judgement on it halfway through? maybe you'll think differently later. but even if you don't, then it's not such a big deal. de gustibus non dispuntandum est.

I really like that statement. I often hate some books while reading through them but afterwards when I am able to weed out the storyline in my head, I may like it.

 

[datalink7]

I read it with my dad sometime in middle school, which helped because it is his favorite book so we could discuss what I didn't understand. I remember liking it a lot, but it has been a while.

I need to read that one again.

 

[exp]

To each his own...it's all subjective anyway. I wasn't thrilled about C&P myself, but it has been awhile so maybe I'll try again soon.

Tolstoy 0wnz Russian Lit anyway.

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: exp
To each his own...it's all subjective anyway. I wasn't thrilled about C&P myself, but it has been awhile so maybe I'll try again soon.

Tolstoy 0wnz Russian Lit anyway.

Hehe... I read War & Peace for fun freshman year of HS, only to find out that we needed to read it for extra credit Sophomore year. So I read it twice in a pretty short ammount of time

Great book though. Ressurection is also very good.

 

[exp]

Hehe... I read War & Peace for fun freshman year of HS, only to find out that we needed to read it for extra credit Sophomore year. So I read it twice in a pretty short ammount of time

You can never have too many readings of W&P. Much easier to keep track of all the characters the 2nd time around.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

Dude! WTF are you saying!

It's a TRUE classic! Alas, you probably prefer "Kangaroo Jack" b/c it has more action.

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: exp
To each his own...it's all subjective anyway. I wasn't thrilled about C&P myself, but it has been awhile so maybe I'll try again soon.

Tolstoy 0wnz Russian Lit anyway.

Ummm.. Crime and Punishment was written by Dostoyevsky, not Tolstoy.

 

[Babbles]

Books like that are a tough read when surfing the net is the primary way many people read now and days.

 

[exp]

Ummm.. Crime and Punishment was written by Dostoyevsky, not Tolstoy.

Ummm...I never said it was written by Tolstoy.

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: exp

Ummm.. Crime and Punishment was written by Dostoyevsky, not Tolstoy.

Ummm...I never said it was written by Tolstoy.

That's how I understood your post, but hey, I have no problem apologizing