Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Crime and Punishment is, of course, a classic, and you can find synopses, analyses, and glowing reviews all over the Internet. Thus, I am not going to say much about it, since I found myself bored to sleep (literally) by the constant yammering of an array of mentally unstable, manipulative, morally corrupt men trying to justify unjustifiable acts.  I bow to the intellectual superiority of anyone who finds this discourse engaging in the 21st century (perhaps I would have found the philosophical arguments more interesting had I read it in, say, 1870). If you haven't read the book and decide to do so, I recommend keeping a character list, as every character is referred to by multiple names in the Russian tradition, which can be quite confusing. Personally, however, I wouldn't recommend investing the time in reading this monster.