A posthumous release by one of this generation's foremost experts on Fedor Dostoevskii, Dostoevsky's “Crime and Punishment”: A Reader's Guide by Deborah Martinsen is every bit as erudite as its author. Martinsen, who was past president of the International Dostoevskii Society and former executive secretary of the North American Dostoevskii Society, is the author of critical studies of Dostoevskii including Surprised by Shame: Dostoevsky's Liars and Narrative Exposure (Ohio, 2003), and co-editor of Dostoevsky in Context (Oxford, 2015).

Although the scholarship on Dostoevskii is vast, and literature on Crime and Punishment in particular is extensive and rich, Martinsen's work, published in the Cultural Syllabus series by Academic Studies Press, fills a niche. Surprisingly, before this volume, there had been no comprehensive reader's guide to Crime and Punishment, save for readings and analyses that appear as parts of larger works. An exquisite resource and teaching aid, every page of this guide is packed with detailed analysis, citing major research to date. It is written for general readers but also provides tips and suggestions for teaching the novel. The information presented is for the most part known to researchers, yet even the most seasoned reader of Dostoevskii will find the guide useful, whether as a refresher course or convenient reference tool. Additional existing and forthcoming materials on teaching various aspects of the novel are cited in an appendix (104).

The first chapter, “Historical Introduction: Dostoevsky and Russia,” situates the author in a historical and national context, and concludes with a discussion of the etymologies and connotations of characters’ names (8–9). This is followed by an overview of the novel in Chapter 2, after which a close reading of each of its six parts is distributed throughout Chapters 3 to 5. Four appendices, nicely packaged with color photographs, include: illustrations and maps; a Crime and Punishment chronology; contemporary critical reactions; and a chronology of Dostoevskii's life.

Martinsen's close reading produces remarkably sharp insights into each respective chapter on its own and the novel's construction and symmetry as a whole. The study proceeds by summary and analysis, and considerable attention is given to how the author uses narrative strategy to fuse psychology and ideology, in particular to gain readers’ sympathy for the protagonist by engaging us cognitively and emotionally. Cleverly implicating us in his crime by harnessing our sympathy for Raskolnikov and his rationalizations, Dostoevskii manipulates our perspective and exploits our emotions (10). He absorbs us viscerally and ideologically in the story while engaging us in burning social, political, and metaphysical questions of his day and ours. Martinsen reminds us: “Dostoevsky thus makes us interpret, evaluate, and decide for ourselves—the goal of a liberal arts education” (12). After the overview, a section called “Close Reading: Lessons in Narrative” takes us through the layers, showing how the author moves in and out of the protagonist's head, and distinguishing between the narrative and authorial audience (12–14). Following a plot summary, a list of “Teaching Tips” centers on “four big questions” that Martinsen offers for structuring class discussions, such as why readers root for the murderer to escape the scene of the crime, and why most characters and readers forget the second murder victim, Lizaveta (17).

Sections under further subheadings take us through major movements of the plot paired with analysis. For example, “Raskolnikov's Dream of the Mare” leads to discussion of “Two Kinds of Dreams: Conscious (Mechta) and Unconscious (Son)” (22–26). For those studying or teaching the original Russian, Martinsen frequently makes a point of parsing Russian roots and etymologies—for example, the parsing of “prestuplenie” in the novel's title (43). In all, examining multiple themes through concrete examples and numerous parallelisms, Martinsen establishes intricate connections between the threads weaving throughout Dostoevskii's novel, including ethical and metaphysical questions such as social injustice, utilitarian ideology, rational egoism, and the choice to do good or evil. Ending, finally, with a discussion of how the shift in narrative strategy in the Epilogue “surprises, even alienates readers,” Martinsen shows how “careful readers feel Dostoevsky's authorial hand” (85).

Revered as a scholar and equally esteemed as a colleague and friend, Martinsen's passing is deeply felt by coworkers, peers, and students, and it leaves an indelible void. Adding to Martinsen's tremendous contributions to the field, however, this reader's guide—in addition to the much anticipated A Very Short Introduction to Dostoevsky, forthcoming by Oxford University Press—provide a fine cap to her legacy and prove what an irreparable loss is her passing to the field.