Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

This is a novel about an axe murderer.  It can be considered as a psychological novel, though not in the sense that a modern secular humanist would use that term.  Dostoevsky's psychology is deeply rooted in Orthodox Christianity.  Raskolnikov's sickness is fundamentally a spiritual sickness, and the alienation he experiences as the result of his crime is not only from the human race as a societal body, but from the Body of Christ and the life of the world in its most Christian sense.  Raskolnikov is a young student who swallows some bad ideology, of the nihilistic type that elevates the individual and damns everyone else.  The very name 'Raskolnikov' comes from a Russian word meaning schism or division:  he is a divided soul.  This division and alienation are a sort of private hell for Raskolnikov, and Dostoevsky explores the need for wholeness, restoration, and redemption masterfully, without ever once overtly "preaching" at his readers.

The characters in this book are vivid and unforgettable.  There is Sonya, who is essential to Raskolnikov's journey of the soul.  Her occupation is low and repellent, yet it is she who embodies compassion, faith, and love.  There is Porfiry Petrovich, who on the surface seems like a sort of Russian Poirot investigating Raskolnikov's case, but proves to be more than that.  He knows - he waits, he sympathizes, he wants rehabilitation - not just punishment.  There is a terrible, vile villain called Svidrigailov, whose presence in the novel shows us what true alienation from God and man looks like.  He is a sort of foil for Raskolnikov, for whom there is still hope.  Raskolnikov's best friend Razumihkin is his voice of reason and sanity, and the love plot between Razumihkin and Raskolnikov's sister Dunia adds another interesting layer to the story.

Crime and Punishment is one of the truly great works of literature.  It is both rich in symbolism and gritty in its realism.  It forces us to confront our own prejudices and capacity for compassion.  By turns psychologically gripping and suspenseful, terrifying, profoundly sad, and hopeful, this work demands much of the reader, and gives much in return.