Timely-Huckleberry73 t1_j6ls6b6 wrote on January 31, 2023 at 5:44 AM

I think crime and punishment is very readable and feels surprisingly modern, although it depends on the translation. I find the Constance Garnett translation very readable but not the p&v translation.

SillyObjectives t1_j6nx52i wrote on January 31, 2023 at 5:48 PM

Translation matters a ton and I had a great audiobook version but I haven’t been able to find it again!

jerbear3 t1_j6ozm0r wrote on January 31, 2023 at 9:44 PM

I've tried the P&V translations of both Crime & Punishment and Notes From Underground and just could not get through them. I wonder what makes them so difficult compared to others?

Timely-Huckleberry73 t1_j6pdrxg wrote on January 31, 2023 at 11:16 PM

Apparently some people really like the p&v translations. They are supposed to be a very faithful and direct translation from Russian. However, I think this results in a text that reads very unnaturally in English. Constance Garnett on the other hand is criticized by some for taking too many liberties with the text. I prefer her method though because it reads so naturally and feels like it was written in English in the first place.