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Crime and Punishment

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It is the second of Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his return from 5 years of exile in Siberia and is considered the first great novel of his "mature" period of writing. The novel is often cited as one of the supreme achievements in literature.

Read more about Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
up, you changed it from your right hand to your left and nearly dropped
it! I noticed it because the same idea struck me again, that you meant
to do her a kindness without my seeing. You can fancy how I watched you
and I saw how you succeeded in slipping it into her pocket. I saw it, I
saw it, Ill take my oath.”

Lebeziatnikov was almost breathless. Exclamations arose on all hands
chiefly expressive of wonder, but some were menacing in tone. They all
crowded round Pyotr Petrovitch. Katerina Ivanovna flew to Lebeziatnikov.

“I was mistaken in you! Protect her! You are the only one to take her
part! She is an orphan. God has sent you!”

Katerina Ivanovna, hardly knowing what she was doing, sank on her knees
before him.

“A pack of nonsense!” yelled Luzhin, roused to fury, “its all nonsense
youve been talking! ‘An idea struck you, you didnt think, you
noticed’--what does it amount to? So I gave it to her on the sly on
purpose? What for? With what object? What have I to do with this...?”

“What for? Thats what I cant understand, but that what I am telling
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Typing out classical literature is not just an exercise in patience; it's a deeply immersive way to understand the rhythm, structure, and nuances of great writing. By manually reproducing the works of renowned authors, you engage with the text on a level that reading alone cannot offer. This method allows you to feel the flow of sentences, the choice of words, and the intricate construction of paragraphs that make these works timeless.

Style is a very simple matter; it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can't use the wrong words.

– Virginia Woolf

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– Gustave Flaubert

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– Jack Kerouac

More on this topic:

"Imitate then innovate", an article by David Perell