‘Crime and Punishment’ follows the moral conflicts of the impoverished law student Raskolnikov after his double murder of an elderly pawnbroker and her sister. It is a bleak tale of suffering on the poverty line of Petersburg, as Raskolnikov faces hardships and the feeling that the world is against him. In writing, it reminded me a lot of a Dickensian level of detail, and many ideas are reminiscent. It was a dark and gritty story that matched the pessimism of Kafka’s writing. The map of Petersburg at the front did spoil a main plot point for me which was irritating as it’d have been extremely poignant if I didn’t expect it, and the use of metaphor in said moment was so strong. The moral ambiguity of Raskolnikov, believing himself justified to a degree but also plagued with guilt, and then at the same time being a murderer, really had you questioning who was the antagonist. In some cases I saw Porify as such but then he’s just doing his job, and then Svidirgalov is both an awful person but such a poignant character that can’t be seen as an entirely morally ill antagonist. It’s a brilliant exploration of the morally grey all in all.