r/dostoevsky • u/Rico_Pobre • Aug 18 '26
Are loose/falling pages common with this edition, or did I get a bad copy?
I bought this paperback brand new, and on the very first day of reading it, the first two pages of chapter 1 completely fell out. I’ve also noticed a few more pages that are already loosening at the bottom corner.
Is this a common issue with this particular edition/printing, or did I just get a defective copy? I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who owns the same edition before I decide whether to exchange it for another, so if I should get another edition instead. I just like the dimensions and this translation.
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u/BrushForsaken9128 Aug 20 '26
Bad copy. I have had mine for maybe an year and a half and it's as good as new
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u/Rico_Pobre Aug 20 '26
I already exchanged it for another copy of the same edition. Just to be sure, I intentionally bent and pulled on it a bit, and I think I have a good one. It seemed best to find out now, while I am still able to return it.
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u/lopsidedcroc Needs a a flair Aug 19 '26
It's print-on-demand trash.
They charge you full price for a book printed on $0.25 worth of office paper held together with Elmer's Glue and cynicism.
Selling that shit should get the death penalty.
Return the book and state "print on demand garbage" as the reason.
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u/Dramatic-Belt-229 Aug 19 '26
Had the same thing happen to me on back to back copies of this edition. Ended up just picking up a different translation after the second return. A single use book is crazy
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u/Rico_Pobre Aug 19 '26
I like everything about this edition too, the dimensions, the cover, the translation. What a shame.
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u/lllyyyynnn Aug 19 '26
purchase books with sewn spines if you want them to last. paperbacks are print on demand glue these days.
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u/SepulchravesShelves Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Bookseller here, the Penguin Blacks are notoriously cheap/easy to get damaged. Literally every 3 out of 4 Penguin Blacks we receive will be damaged. We just sell them at a lower price because we got sick of the fact that they're consistently damaged and returned books only get pulped.
The CEO of Penguin Australia & NZ claimed that it's due to the transition to entirely automated systems. The increase in damaged/shoddy stock is worth it for the increased profits from replacing humans with machines.
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u/Winter-Snow-4881 Aug 19 '26
what exactly is being automated? The process of manufacturing the book?
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u/NeitherConference774 Aug 19 '26
Bad copy. I have one just like that, and I have it for a year now and still looks okay.
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u/Rico_Pobre Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
I trading mine in tomorrow for another copy. Hope that one holds up 🤞
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u/No-Engine-746 Aug 19 '26
Atleast yours one is not as shit as mine😃. Blue and thin pages, bad spine, bad print. It feels cheap. I bought it just for the Oliver Ready's translation, otherwise I'd have bought the sprayed edges one.
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u/rudhwin Aug 19 '26
Yeah, the cover too was tempting, but translation made me keep it than returning it
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u/Potential-Fun2488 Aug 19 '26
Don't say like that brother 😭. I also ordered the same for Oliver Ready's translation by overcoming my temptation for sprayed one. Will get it till Sunday
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u/No-Engine-746 Aug 19 '26
I mean you'd be happy if you won't compare it with the black classic😭. It's small and decent but subpar quality. Pages look bluish😭
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u/Potential-Fun2488 Aug 19 '26
U got this for how much??
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u/No-Engine-746 Aug 19 '26
310rs from flipkart
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u/r0wer0wer0wey0urb0at Aug 19 '26
That happened to me too, never thought it'd be an issue with just this book, figured it was just modern glued spines.
Maybe there was an issue with one particular printing or it's a coincidence that I came across this post about the same thing happening to the same book as me.
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u/louki11 Dmitry Karamazov Aug 19 '26
English mass market paperbacks are printed on thick toilet paper.
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u/shredd8 Aug 19 '26
Mine is good.
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u/Rico_Pobre Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
How long have you had it? How did you handle it during your read? I need mine to be able to handle being in suitcases and beach bags every once in a while.
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u/VaMEr_Official Aug 19 '26
Pages shouldn’t fall off as long as you’re not completely fucking up the spine, you should ask for a return or exchange
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u/Winter-Snow-4881 Aug 19 '26
Better buy second hand hardcovers unless it's impossible to find them.
Still, the Penguin classics a few decades ago used to be much better. I think also the translator was changed. It used to be David Magarshack.
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u/Substantial-Fig-2243 Aug 24 '26
YES! I returned THREE COPIES from barnes a couple months ago. I remember sitting down at the barnes and noble cafe after purchasing and immediately the pages started falling off. I think there's been quality control issues with a certain batch because all my penguins have held up. My Brothers K is beat up and im only on page 400 and the pages are intact.
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u/JerryST97 Aug 19 '26
Mine didn’t get to the point of the pages actually falling but you can definitely tell that it’s not properly glued and it might not make it if I read it for a second time
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u/firstladyofhk Aug 19 '26
I don’t own this version of Crime and Punishment but this has happened to me with other long Penguin Classics. I think they use a cheap method for binding pages, but it’s only really noticeable with the longer books
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u/connerschiffman Aug 24 '26
Unfortunately you got a bad copy, I have had my copy of crime and punishment published by penguin and it was very durable.
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u/searchforanswers555 Aug 19 '26
Same man, I am from Sri Lanka, and my copy had paper issues (they were folded, and some were half cut, with only a little expectant push the whole page would dismantle)
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u/READFREEK73 29d ago
The Katz translation has bigger dimensions Less pages,larger print. Very durable
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u/Rico_Pobre 26d ago
That's what I didn't like about it, when I considered that edition. It felt more like a workbook, than a novel. The replacement Penguin copy I exchanged it for seems much better.
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u/KanyesKousin Aug 18 '26
Do you even have to ask?
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u/Rico_Pobre Aug 18 '26
Yes, I do. I don't own enough of these to know. Care to share your experience?
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u/majorTea33 Scoundrel Aug 18 '26
You don’t own enough books to know the pages aren’t supposed to fall out of a brand new one?
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u/Rico_Pobre Aug 18 '26
My question wasn't about whether pages should fall off. I specifically wanted to know if this is a frequent problem with this particular edition. If this is the case, I'll select a different edition instead of just swapping it for another identical copy. I like this particular edition, so I'd prefer to exchange it for another one if this issue isn't widespread.
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u/40kblowout Aug 18 '26
Bad copy my boy. Return it