I read all of Dostoevsky's works as Russian literature was my minor. I was profoundly affected by "Crime and Punishment." His novels are full of despair for sure, but there's also redemption...a little sunshine in the rain.

I don’t think she was entirely serious. I studied Russian philology and our language teachers were immigrants from Russia. I seem to remember she was from Moscow, hence jokes about Petersburg and the weather there. But also some concern for sensitive young people in there, I guess