Crime and Punishment (Audio Connoisseur Edition)

By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett - translator

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Length: 24 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Fantastic

This audiobook is incredible. The narration is above and beyond any audiobook I've listened to. You surely will not be dissapointed with this one. You feel yourself getting into a criminals mind. Taking every step with him and feeling every emotion. SUBERB. Don't miss this one.

Great novel!!

Dostoevsky does a great job in capturing the mind set of the main character Raskolnikov. The author gets you inside this mans head and sucks you into his methodically cunning murderous (and occasionally benevolent) psyche. Just sit back and enjoy this masterpiece of literature from, in my opinion, Russia's most prolific author.

The narrator does remind me of the voice in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland though. Every time I hear his voice it's the first thing I think about. But don't let it deter you. He does a fairly good job with his characterizations.

great piece of work and well read

obviously a classic piece of work and excellent translation and reading. Narration excellent (with the possible exception of the voice of female characters - admirable effort) otherwise the performance was outstanding. i have read the book previously and found this audio book better than reading it myself. Getting the correct pronunciation of soviet names and places for instance made a big difference to understanding the more subtle aspects of the characters.

Highly recommend.

brilliant

I loved this rendition so much I even looked forward to my daily commute, and even traffic jams along the 101 just to keep listening

Powerful and intense narrative of a man searching to find ....

Dostoevsky, with supreme skill, wove all the vices in mankind and twisted world views into a tapestry of life that only can make sense through the lens of the New Testament.

Wrong Tanslation

Would you try another book from Fyodor Dostoevsky and/or Charlton Griffin?

If it is a better translation. The old Garnett translation has been surpassed. Griffin is an excellent reader.

SKIP the first 8 and a half minutes!

I've been devastated several times by this occurrence: a classic novel which I've always wanted to read begins with a boring BIOGRAPHY of the author and a SPOILER-FILLED summary of the book I'm preparing to begin! How frustrating!

Irksome narration

The narrator, Charlton Griffin's strangely affected mid-Atlantic accept is so irritating and distracting, and his character voicing so off-putting that it heavily detracts from the story and the enjoyment of the book. He hams his performance up like anything, and where exactly are these accents supposed to come from?

What a egotistical narrator

The narrator is full of himself. I never bought any other Audible book where the narrator pretty much shits on author of the book he is narrating. This narrator did this as an 8 minute prologue.

Crime and punishment

Boring, everything drags out, takes for ever to get any where. Loose interest trying to fallow the thread of the story.
I listened to it for hours and had to force myself to continue.
I never did finish it.
It may be a clasic but I can't figur out why.