I read crime and punishment again. I think it is a masterpiece for a reason. I had read it many years ago in my late thirties. I think its real impact is when you cross the fifty.
No matter how hard one hones and sophisticates the language, what comes across of the author, over a long text, like in a novel- is his inner personality, his deeper character. That's what makes all the difference about Dostoevsky. Charles Bukowski said he would have killed himself but for Dostoevsky. If I am not wrong, even Hemmingway observed something similar. Jordan Peterson the famous Canadian prof is ga ga about Dostoevsky. It is like a resurrection of a tormented soul.
