Didn't feel like a punishment, after all

I'll admit that I only read Crime and Punishment because it's one of those books you're "supposed" to read. I hadn't read any major Russian novels, and I knew Dostoevsky was a master at creating psychologically interesting characters. Honestly, though, I thought the book would bore me to death. I couldn't have been more wrong. Crime and Punishment proved to be a page-turner, a thriller that often kept me up reading until 4 a.m.

Dostoevsky really puts the reader inside the head of Raskolnikov, the main character and (no spoiler here!) the murderer. My heart was beating so quickly after he commited the murder, I felt as though I were fleeing a murder scene myself. Raskolnikov is a complex, three-dimensional character whose overzealous sense of altruism, but also of pride and superiority, ultimately leads him to kill. I found this book more interesting than typical murder-mysteries because it focuses on determining the motive for the crime, not on tracking down the criminal. This approach allows the reader to travel deeper into the killer's psyche. The sole focus is on understanding his motives, with no energy wasted on considering the guilt of other suspects.

I highly recommend this book as a first "big Russian novel." It's intellectually challenging, but suspenseful enough to keep the reader hooked. C and P was my first Dostoevsky, but it won't be my last.