13/05/2025

Crime and Punishment- Fjodor Dostoevski 🪓

I was looking forward to finally designing the book with my favorite character for the drawing competition of the podcast BoekenFM: Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment! In the book, we follow him in 19th-century St. Petersburg, before and after he commits a brutal murder of a pawnbroker, convinced that this act is morally justifiable. I always sympathize with Rodja’s torment and inner contradictions. He is, of course, also an excellent example of an unbearable character who is fascinating precisely because of that. I also recognize myself in his inescapable, all-crushing sense of guilt (though I myself have never committed a murder ;-)).

On the endpapers, I’ve depicted Raskolnikov twice: on the front with an angry sense of justification, and on the back with a guilty expression. On his weathered hat two scenes play out: one of the murder and one of the plea for forgiveness.

✷ Genre: psychological novel, classic Russian literature

✷ Themes: morality, poverty, guilt and salvation

✷ Recommended? Yes, this book is an iconic classic for a reason! I annotated a sentence on almost every page. As soon as I finished it, I couldn't wait to read it again.