Crime and Punishment

Raskolnikov, a brilliant ex-student starving in a Saint Petersburg garret, has convinced himself of a theory: that an extraordinary man may step over moral law if his ends are great enough. To prove he is such a man, he plans and commits a murder. The crime takes one chapter. The punishment takes the rest of the book, and it's some of the most gripping psychological suspense ever written: fever, guilt, paranoia, and a slow-motion duel of wits with the genial, terrifying detective Porfiry.

Dostoyevsky writes interiority like a thriller. You're locked inside Raskolnikov's overheated mind as it argues with itself, and every conversation crackles with double meanings. Heard aloud, the interrogation scenes play like courtroom drama.

At roughly 200,300 words, Crime and Punishment runs about 22½ hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

Crime and Punishment is in the public domain, so the complete text is free on Project Gutenberg and LoudReader has the entire Project Gutenberg catalog built in. To listen:

1. Download LoudReader for Mac or iPhone (free, no account).
2. Search for “Crime and Punishment” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

LoudReader reads with natural offline voices, so the whole book works on a plane or underground. It is fully on-device and private, your library never leaves your device. Listening is unlimited on the free tier.