Raskolnikov Cases the Scene
I've begun reading Crime and Punishment - the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, which I believe is the latest and greatest. I'd like to get it knocked out by October so I can re-read Dracula for Halloween.
I don't think I've ever approached a book with greater indifference than this one - classic though it is. I read He mingway's A Moveable Feast a couple of years ago (really enjoyed that by the way), and in it, he speaks enviously of Dostoevsky. Maybe that's where I got the idea. I'm really hoping the indifference goes away, becaus this is a big book - 500 plus pages. It would be nice to be pulled in.
So, the novel comes to us in six parts and an epilogue. The opening section has a dirty, disheveled, impoverished and hungry Raskolnikov - he is not named right away - walking the streets of St. Petersburg in the process of rehearsing some sort of plan. He makes his way to an old woman's apartment where he pawns a watch. It's clear he's been there before as references are made to a previous pawn transaction. It's also clear Raskolnikov is there for another purpose, which is not revealed. He takes care to note as much as possible about the apartment and how to get there with as little attention as possible. In his mind, he can hardly believe his intention might be real. We know what is, of cours, but we'll pretend not to.
