25 Apr 2010

Crime and Punishment

Dostoevsky is one of my favouite authors.  Crime and Punishment is a novel that I had been meaning to read for quite some time.  I remember buying a copy of the novel when I was in my first year MCA.  I somehow lost that book.  I bought another copy of the book after I had moved to Hyderabad.  And I lost that copy too.  I had lent it to a friend who misplaced it somewhere.  Finally, I bought the current copy that I have, a hard-bound copy.  I don't like hard-cover books and I tried my best to find a paperback version before buying this one; but couldn't find any.  Good thing is that I read this book without losing it :)

I liked the novel.  Dostoevsky made me fall in love with Dounia; it wasn't just Svidrigaïlov who loved the way she looked as she was pointing gun at him.  Svidrigaïlov is probably my most favourite character in the novel.

As always, I collected some quotes along the way.  Some of these don't make much sense without the context.  But this is to record what I liked, so here's the list.
  • But if one looks at men in all ways -- are there many good ones left?
  • You'll never improve a man by repelling him.
  • But facts are not everything — at least half the business lies in how you interpret them.
  • Man is a vile creature!... And vile is he who calls him vile for that.
  • As if madmen didn't talk sensibly.
  • What idiotic ideas come into one's head!
  • You never reach any truth without making fourteen mistakes and very likely a hundred and fourteen.
  • To go wrong in one's own way is better than to go right in someone else's. 
  • "Of course, I am an ass, but still... you are another."
  • "God give peace to the dead, the living still have to live."
  • We must be patient, and much, much can be forgiven.
  • Don't be uneasy, mother.  What must be, will be.
  • Vive la guerre éternelle.  (Translates to "Long live the eternal war".)
  • Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large and a deep heart.  The really great man must, I think, have great sadness on earth.
  • The more cunning a man is, the simpler the trap he must be caught in.
  • "Human beings in general, indeed, greatly love to be insulted, have you noticed that?"
  • "I did not bow down to you, I bowed down to all the suffering of humanity."
  • "What should I be without God?"
  • "What all men need is fresh air, fresh air... more than anything!"
  • Everyone thinks of himself, and he lives most gaily who knows best how to deceive himself.
  • "But why are you so keen about virtue?  Have mercy on me, my good friend, I am a sinful man."

3 comments:

  1. Android has an awesome ebook reader app called aldiko which lets you download lots of free books which are past the copyright law. Dostoevsky is one of them among conan doyle, jules verne, HG Wells etc. You might want to check it out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Abhiram,

    I am not much of a fan of reading novels and literature from a phone; but thanks for the tip :)

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  3. I also amazed absolutely that qu: its really truth

    ReplyDelete