Crime and Punishment

Okay, full disclosure, I hated a lot of things about this book. And yet, there were a lot of things I found important. So without getting into the weeds about why I've decided I (in all likelihood) universally dislike Russian literature, I will simply state that:

A) I think this book is important for what it teaches about the human condition and mankind's relationship to moral crime. While fiction is limited to an expression of the author's perspective, Dostoyevsky lands pretty cleanly in line with my personal viewpoints.

B) The narrative was maddening. I don't often struggle with a meandering narrative—even in novels from the same period don't bother me—unless they're Russian. I'm not sure why that is and my opinion has little bearing on how “good” a story was. A good friend of mine is a Russian scholar, he speaks the language, mingles comfortably in that country and with Russian people, and he loved this book. Perhaps my limitation comes from an ignorance of the Russian psyche and I'm not opposed to owning that truth. That being said, it would take a lot of prodding to get me to read another Russian work of fiction moving forward.