Crime and Punishment

Many people consider this title to be the greatest novel ever written. This full-cast dramatization by BBC Radio superbly captures the intensity that is so crucial to the story of Rodion Raskolnikov and the psychological torment he endures following his murder of a money lender and her sister. The adaptation works well on audio because the characters and their voices are clear and well defined. In addition, the performance is true to the novel and easy to follow. While George Guidall's unabridged reading remains the gold standard, listeners who prefer shorter production will find this recording is a solid substitute. D.J.S. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

Dostoyevsky's relentlessly bleak story about poverty and hopelessness in pre-Revolutionary Russia is boiled down to its essence. Alex Jennings is brilliant as Raskolnikov, a man unfortunate enough to have a conscience. Driven by poverty, greed, and a touch of madness, Raskolnikov murders two women for their money and spends the rest of the book trying to live with his crime. Jennings gamely works through the difficult Russian names, making them sound as common as Smith and Jones, while adding just the right amount of pathos and leaden tone to the voices of his characters. The famous novel goes a long way to helping listeners understand the root causes of the Russian Revolution. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

Anthony Heald shows remarkable versatility in this production of Dostoevsky's 1866 classic. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT is a story in which little actually happens. The murders that constitute the titular crime occur early, and there is no mystery about who is responsible. The novel is primarily one of psychological, philosophical, and ethical questions pondered through the dialogue of its intriguing characters. Heald not only ascribes a unique voice to each of the cast, but he delivers the dialogue as a stage actor would, with exaggerated emotion and even with laughter, coughing, stammering, and other adornments indicated in the text. Although parts of this long recording inevitably drag, Heald's pacing and rich characterizations keep the story moving. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Narrator James Anderson Foster never forgets that passion--including intellectual passion--is the heart of this novel. Those who listen to classic Russian novels will have encountered a common problem when the characters encounter a philosophical problem that requires discussion. Only a skilled narrator can convey the characters' (and the author's) passion for these ideas and maintain the listener's interest in what is often a central element in the story. Yes, there are plenty of abstractions, but Foster lets the text deal with them while he concentrates on the fierce emotions, and sometimes complex emotional games, of the people caught up in those discussions. This is a memorable version of a great novel. D.M.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2019 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine