I was intrigued by the idea of The Sinner and the Saint, this biography/literary criticism/history/true crime book, and found it enjoyable and rewarding reading.

As a biography of Dostoyevsky, I was astonished by his life. He was plagued by poverty and ill health and epilepsy, and cheated by his publishers. He became involved with radical thinkers. He was arrested by the tsar for treason, nearly executed, and sent to Siberia where he studied criminals up close, eliciting them to share their grisly stories. The description of life in Siberia is very affecting. Russia had no prisons, and convict labor in Siberian mines fueled massive wealth.

After four years in prison, Dostoyevsky was required to serve in the Army. He and his brother then tried to run magazines, which failed. He tried gambling in a desperate bid for solvency. The tsar kept tight control with censorship of newspapers, magazines, and books, and yet Dostoyevsky wrote some of the greatest novels ever written.

Russia was in turmoil, reform movements and radicalism spurring the tsar to authoritarianism. One philosophy was to believe in nothing–nilhism. When a man who tried to assassinate the tsar was asked by the tsar what he wanted, he replied “nothing.”

The French murderer Lacenaire, unapologetic and enjoying his notoriety, inspired Dostoyevsky’s character of Raskolnikov. Lacenaire’s wealthy family lost their fortune. He was expelled from schools and hated his jobs, and took up gambling while trying to write. He adopted a philosophy of egoism and decided to become an outlaw. He had no remorse for the murders he committed and met his execution with impersonal interest.

The murderer fascinated Dostoyevsky. He decided to write a murder story from the viewpoint of the murderer. A man who kills for no reason, for nothing. He would not be a monster, he would be someone we could understand.

I enjoyed the book on many levels: learning about Russia under the tsar and the philosophical and political ideas that arose in 19th c Russia; as a biography of Dostoyevsky; for its discussion of Russian literature; and as a vehicle to understand Dostoyevsky’s masterpiece, Crime and Punishment.

I received a free egalley from the publisher though NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

This book is, as it says in the cover, about the crime that inspired Dostoevsky to write one of his absolute master pieces, it is also a book about what was going on in Dostoevsky’s life at that point and how the story of C&P evolved meanwhile.

For me, the biographical parts didn’t really hold a lot of news, I am familiar with Dostoevsky’s life events already, that said Birmingham really knows how to spin a narrative. Even knowing the details already, I was engrossed in the narrative and appreciated the focus on e.g. the condition of publishing in tsarist Russia and the people around Dostoevsky who also contributed to the intellectual climate, more so than him in some cases.

Basically, Birmingham is a really good author and knows how to pace a story and how to interweave parts that don’t obviously belong (Lacenaire, more on that later). When the book wrapped up at a very natural stopping point, I was so wrapped up in the story that I was completely stunned and fully prepared for an equally detailed continuation of the rest of Dostoevsky’s life and literary works (I am here for the sequels, in other words).

Now, to what was new to me - the Lacenaire case. It was really interesting, and though it was a bit jarring at times to jump back and forth between him and Dostoevsky, partly because Lacenaire was such a worlds-apart kind of personality, but I loved seeing this story and contemplating (not like Dostoevsky contemplating the psychology of a murderer) but the psychology of the general public who love to consume gruesome murder stories, including me. Lacenaire, and many other old cases, really prove that the “craze” for true crime content lately is not a new thing at all, people have always been nuts for these things and it is immensely fascinating, especially in the case of a “gentleman” murderer whose personality seems somehow attractive rather than appalling to people.

It was interesting to see the development of Raskolnikov next to the person of Lacenaire and consider Dostoevsky’s purpose and meaning with his own work (which I felt was highlighted in the incongruence Birmingham presented here).

All in all, the writing is accessible but beautiful in style, to the reader not familiar with Russia at the time there will be plenty of interesting information, Dostoevsky’s life is fascinating and gripping, and the true crime is like a bit of spice in the mix. A must for die hard C&P fans and a treat for the casual ones. I love seeing how regular things, like a newspaper story, can influence a creative mind and emanate into a masterpiece. It is a reminder that a brilliant mind is as contingent as the rest of us.

This will look good on my Dostoevsky shelf eventually. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for this pre-release copy

Full disclosure: I am something of a Dostoevsky fanatic. I will read anything by and about him. I once read a book about the books he read while writing “The brothers Karamazov”. I named my dog for one of his characters. THIS book is right up my alley and when I received an ARC from Penguin Press I squealed with delight.

This book is, as it says in the cover, about the crime that inspired Dostoevsky to write one of his absolute master pieces, it is also a book about what was going on in Dostoevsky’s life at that point and how the story of C&P evolved meanwhile.

For me, the biographical parts didn’t really hold a lot of news, I am familiar with Dostoevsky’s life events already, that said Birmingham really knows how to spin a narrative. Even knowing the details already, I was engrossed in the narrative and appreciated the focus on e.g. the condition of publishing in tsarist Russia and the people around Dostoevsky who also contributed to the intellectual climate, more so than him in some cases.

Basically, Birmingham is a really good author and knows how to pace a story and how to interweave parts that don’t obviously belong (Lacenaire, more on that later). When the book wrapped up at a very natural stopping point, I was so wrapped up in the story that I was completely stunned and fully prepared for an equally detailed continuation of the rest of Dostoevsky’s life and literary works (I am here for the sequels, in other words).

Now, to what was new to me - the Lacenaire case. It was really interesting, and though it was a bit jarring at times to jump back and forth between him and Dostoevsky, partly because Lacenaire was such a worlds-apart kind of personality, but I loved seeing this story and contemplating (not like Dostoevsky contemplating the psychology of a murderer) but the psychology of the general public who love to consume gruesome murder stories, including me. Lacenaire, and many other old cases, really prove that the “craze” for true crime content lately is not a new thing at all, people have always been nuts for these things and it is immensely fascinating, especially in the case of a “gentleman” murderer whose personality seems somehow attractive rather than appalling to people.

It was interesting to see the development of Raskolnikov next to the person of Lacenaire and consider Dostoevsky’s purpose and meaning with his own work (which I felt was highlighted in the incongruence Birmingham presented here).

All in all, the writing is accessible but beautiful in style, to the reader not familiar with Russia at the time there will be plenty of interesting information, Dostoevsky’s life is fascinating and gripping, and the true crime is like a bit of spice in the mix. A must for die hard C&P fans and a treat for the casual ones. I love seeing how regular things, like a newspaper story, can influence a creative mind and emanate into a masterpiece. It is a reminder that a brilliant mind is as contingent as the rest of us.

This will look good on my Dostoevsky shelf eventually. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for this pre-release copy!