Wednesday, November 27, 2013

The seven best comeuppances in literature

Having previously tagged seven favorite tales of revenge in literature at The Barnes & Noble Book Blog, Becky Ferreira has now come up with the best comeuppances in literature. (Revenge and comeuppance "definitely overlap," Ferreira points out, yet "revenges are engineered by mere mortals. Comeuppances, however, read as if the universe itself stepped in to make sure that justice is doled out properly.")

One entry on the list:
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Crime and Punishment: demolishing people’s brains since 1866. This famously intense read follows the inner machinations of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished student who convinces himself that because he is smart, he’s above the law. His “punishment” is carefully wrought and full of brilliant insights into moral relativism, class tension, and individualism. We expect nothing less of Dostoevsky, whose books are basically riveting philosophical Rubik’s Cubes.
Read about the other entries on the list.

Crime and Punishment is among Lorraine Kelly's six best books  and the top ten works of literature according to Norman Mailer, and one of Gerald Scarfe's six best books; it appears on Andrew Klavan's five best list of psychological crime novels. Elmore Leonard has never read beyond page fifty of the tome.

--Marshal Zeringue