It took me more than a year to finish it (started at August 2025). It's probably a translation issue (I read the McDuffy translation) since I have no problem reading verbose works such as Immanuel Kant and Leo Tolstoy; I did enjoy reading White Nights so my theory may be more correct.

Anyway, I do like the story a lot as it is not all that common to read in the perspective of a murderer. The moral and psychological conflicts between and of the characters are engaging, albeit a bit tedious at times.

The women characters, especially Dunya and Sonya, took the spotlight of the novel for me as they are often than not more flesh out than the male characters, which the latter leaned more on common archetypes (such as Luzhin). But Razumikhin, my lovable-golden-retriever-who-fell-in-love-at-first-sight-cliché, will always have a special place in my heart.

Overall, I do love the novel. I might find another translation and read it again in the future.