Over rated - Rated 
I'm afraid I'm one of the naysayers on this one. A depressing book with a set of characters that are constantly on the edge of a breakdown. Long rambling dialogue that to my mind is repetative and tiresome. The anti hero is a pathetic creature who in my opinion inspires no concern whatsoever. A page turner it isn't. Give me Dickens or Melville any day for authors of that era.
the greatest novel ever written - Rated 
When William Faulkner was asked what are the three greatest novels ever written, he answered 'Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina.' I say 'Crime and Punishment, Crime and Punishment, Crime and Punishment. I read it for the first time in the old Penguin Classics translation by David Magyarshak when I was 19 and it blew my mind away. I was Raskolnikov; ain't we all! I resisted re-reading it for years, frightened it wouldn't be the same, until I read it again at 38, 19 years later, in the current Penguin Classics version translated by David McDuff and benefitted greatly from the excellent textual notes in that edition, which provide a lot of valuable and detailed information on the intellectual, political and historical contexts of the novel. Now at 44, I have just finished reading the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation. I have no Russian, but this is the one to read. This is intuitive, of course, but it reads as the story feels in ways that the other two versions I have read do not. My second reading didn't recapture the incandescence of my first encounter with the book. The Pevear and Volokhonsky translation did. I felt like I was getting the book for the first time (again!) Now for their Karamazov!
Start here - Rated
If you have not read Dostoyevsky or Russian literature then read this book first. I can honesty agree with the view that you need to stick with it at first, although use this opportunity to absorb the authors view of Russian society. At first you focus on the acts portrayed in the text and then the thought process of Raskolnikov. You may also find a dstinctive trace of elitism throughout, reflecting the class structure and attitudes of the time. An excellent book that will encourage you to continue your Russian classics education.
My favourite work of fiction - Rated
An epic book grappling with the political and philsophical ideas of the day(utilitiarianism, nihilism) and religion. A dark atmospheric journey into the psychology of crime, confession and morality. The book shows an understanding of how the subjective can lead to a (Christian) existentialist submission through loneliness and anxiety to the acceptance of what has meaning, to what is true. My favourite work of fiction which dissects and divulges the human experience to its very core.
Good translation of a classic .... but it's still a slog! - Rated 
I tend to like the classics - and this was a book I had been meaning to read for a long time. There's no doubt it's a good translation (not that I've seen the orginal of course, but it feels modern and that is usually a good sign) and it is a classic book - but be warned, it is still a slog at times. At one point, I did in fact yell out to the main character "OK, you feel guilty, I GET IT" - but I guess that's the point. You can feel the stiffling oppression in the situation just by reading it - again I suspect that reflects what I suspect is a faithful translation. It won't exactly cheer you up, but you will feel good for getting a great classic under your belt.
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