Crime and Punishment

A masterpiece

Dostoyevsky's timeless "Crime and Punishment" has been masterfully recorded by Gregory. The story is by no means enjoyable, it is the account of a tormented soul and the effect it produces on the reader / listener is a wildly fascinating blend of despair over the injustice of the world and awe of the "mad russian's" magnificent story telling.

Gregory's narration is excellent, he produces characters perfectly distinct from each other by means of ever so slight changes in intonation, without emplying "mock-voices". His protagonists are authentic and their individual voices bare the complex ethical nuances Dostoyevsky intended for them.

All in all, to those unfamiliar with this work, it is in my opinion the ideal way of consuming one of the most fantastic literary pieces of all time.

25 of 26 people found this review helpful

A true classic, a masterpiece!

Fyodor Dostoyevsky originally released Crime and Punishment in a monthly magazine in 1866 in 12 parts. I listened to it one or 2 chapters a day during one month. It is everything that has been written about it. Constantine Gregory's narration does the masterpiece justice.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

The Reader is Equal to the Material.

Any additional comments?

Crime and Punishment is a Great Book with characters that delve into profound psychological, spiritual, social and political themes, revealing Dostoevsky’s insight into the human condition.

Mr. Gregory places his extraordinary depth of understanding and artistry at our service as he leads us on Raskolnikov’s journey through the neighborhoods of St. Petersburg and his psyche. Gregory’s Russian background lends a cultural accuracy to his pronunciation and enhances the experience of the story’s environment and atmosphere. I got more out of the novel by listening to this reader than I would have if I’d only read the book myself. I promise that you will be thrilled by moments when you realize that not only have you completely entered into the story but Mr. Gregory has, too.

He portrays the excruciating conflict of Rodia's madness and philosophy; Razumikhin’s optimism; the delicacy and nobility of Raskolnikov's mother and sister; Svidrigailov’s complexity; Porfiry Petrovich’s patience – and he makes it seem effortless – the true mark of a master.

Outstanding passages include:
Raskolnikov’s interior monologue at end of Part III
Porfiry Petrovich Part VI, Chapter II
Dmitry Prokofyich Vrazumikhin - Part II, Chapter IV (Anywhere, actually!)
Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigaïlov - Part VI, Chapter VI (I was most impressed by the portrayal of this most complicated character.

I predict that in 50 years this recording of Crime and Punishment will be considered a classic and a lasting legacy of Constantine Gregory.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

What a great listen!!

Constantine Gregory made this hard read, amazing and fun!.
I enjoyed listening to his dramatic and comic performance while not missing the beautiful story.
Wow. A must!

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Great!

Dostoyevsky's novels are among the very best ever written. This narration is excellent; I listened to it a second time as soon as I completed it. The themes of the book are timeless and are as vital today as they were in Dostoyevsky's day.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

Marvelous

Although I would have liked to listen to a better translation of the book, the performance by Constantine Gregory is simply matchless. Fascinating book and stunning reader.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

45 years between 1st and 2nd reading--Again!

it may have been wasted on me first time b/c I was green but what a jolt now I've been around the block a few times

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Great Story and Performance - But Audible Fail

This classic by Dostoyevksy is great, as is the narration by Constantine Gregory. Where Audible failed on this was its tech/customer support. The recording ends half way through a sentence at the end of Epilogue 2. The book is essentially over, but never finishes the last line. I tried through several email exchanges to let Audible know about the problem, but received only template answers that assume that either I am incompetent or my devices are substandard. I give up. Nice fail Audible!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fascinating Narrator

This was a great story that was made even greater and more real by the narrator!

9 of 12 people found this review helpful

Wasn’t quite sure what to expect...

...but this audiobook was absolutely fantastic. It was much easier listening than I thought it would be, and after the hour or so of listening, when Raskonikov was talking to the drunkard, I was wondering whether I would be able to get into the book because it seemed to progress so slowly, and this can’t be helped as this novel is rather complex and ambitious in both its detailed characters and ideologies. However, I assure you it is well worth the read. It is important to understand, though, that the authors purpose is not simply to write a story, but to make a point and to examine in detail what a man is at heart. Why does he do the things that he does? Why do some take daring acts of courage or, in some cases, of foolishness? What, at bottom, drives a man to live, and act?

Before I go any further I will note a few technical points of the book. As one reviewer said, yes, the audiobook for some reason does stop mid-sentence, but that is really of little consequence, as it is in the second epilogue and the story has already concluded.
Secondly, the “outdated” Constance Garnett translation, really isn’t. The narrator does an excellent job of pronouncing the names and there are very few words that I found to be archaic. The only difficulty for me was keeping the Russian names straight and keeping track of different geographical locations and landmarks, but these are not that big of a deal, and the characters are so distinct that even when I had no idea what someone’s name was, I recognized immediately who it was. Now on to the meat of the book (no spoilers)...

This book has a broad array of characters with very different personalities and convictions, and their beliefs cause them to react to the same things that they all encounter in the world in very different ways. In a word, the authors point is, Ideas have consequences. There are some characters who view the world as basically all bad, and they see almost nothing as worthwhile except their own way of thinking and their own point of view, this causes them to be bitter, angry, selfish, and conceited, and their actions, and thoughts reflect that. Even when these characters encounter someone who contradicts their world view (namely that all is bad and irredeemable) or see a kind gesture, they instantly react in harshness or rudeness or pessimism, or when these fail, they look upon them as people who simply “don’t understand” the world as clearly as they do. Others, hold to an idealized form of Christianity (I say idealized, in that it does not accurately represent Biblical Christianity, but rather imposes the expectation of Christian moral standards on the whole world, which the Bible does not, but I digress.) who, upon encountering people which contradict their worldview, resort to almost madness to rationalize and ignore all the evil and even twist it into something good. Then there are a very few characters, who embrace a Biblical Christian worldview, who upon finding themselves in a world filled with such evils, as well as good, seek to find their way to understand and to interact with all of it. There is only so much I can say without spoiling anything, so I used an overly broad brush to paint the 3 basic categories I saw in the book, which many character fall perhaps in between. Nevertheless, I hope my review is helpful to your experience in reading and encourage you to think deeply about the implications of this work. For no author ever writes simply for the sake of writing; he always has a purpose in mind.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful