Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoevsky

I am in the process of reading Crime and Punishment. I am at the very end, and have not been able to put it down for other different readings that I have had to do. I downloaded it from Audiblebooks.com and the man that reads it is fantastic. I also have read parts of the novel when I couldn't for some reason listen to it on the computer. Listening to it while the reader acts out the parts is something I would highly recommend. It has really made the characters come alive, and some of the Russian dialogue makes much more sense.

The main character has murdered an old pawn broker woman who takes advantage of the poor and her sister who happens to come in right after the first murder. The old pawn broker is one that the murderer feels deserves to die, but when he is forced to kill her sister as well, who was a meek and mild, religious woman who was regularly beaten by her sister, he is faced with all sorts of conflicting emotions that he can't rationalize away. He finds himself in torment being chased down by a detective, and scared of being caught, he befriends a drunken man who is conflicted because of all the rotten things he has done to his poor family, leaving them destitute because of drink. The drunken man has a daughter of eighteen who is forced into prostitution just to keep the younger children somewhat fed. Our murderer meets her and is confronted by her faith and devotion to God. She continues to trust, believe and have faith in a God that has allowed all sorts of suffering upon her. He cannot deal with her faith. He asks her in a most poignant way, "What has God ever done for you?" Her response brought me to tears. She pauses for a long moment, and replies, "Everything." Her faith at this point makes mine look at the most, weak and faltering. God to her is worthy to be worshipped and adored because He is God, not for what He can or cannot or even will not do for her. Oh to have that kind of faith. Oh to worship God not for His blessings, but for who He is. I like Peter have denied Him over and over again. Maybe not in words, but in deeds. Please forgive me Father. Oh may I worship You above all else. Because You alone are worthy.

Waiting till He comes again, not just in the future, but in my heart as well...............................Lynn