Crime and Punishment, according to me is a tough read. To absorb every thought every feeling, every event and link them, is quite a mental drain. The whole story is about the psychological impact of murder on the murderer. The murderer is not a criminal by nature but commits a crime.
First and foremost the names are tough to remember and everybody is also called by their shorter names. For example the protagonist is RODION ROMANOVICH RASKOLNIKOV, affectionately called RODIA. So in the book he is called Raskolnikov or Rodia. I used to confuse his name with his friend's name which also is similar, RAZUMIKHIN.
Once this is sorted out, next was understanding of the psychology of every character. Why they did whatever they did?
I felt Raskolnikov was suffering from some mental illness. He was an ex student of law , had no money even to eat , forget about paying his rent. A hungry mind is only delusional and he burns his mind overthinking. He kills the pawn broker and her sister and lives all through with a guilt , he is mentally tormented and feels daunted, day and night by the crime he has committed.
The Character I admired the most was Sophia, who had a drunkard for a father,  and a step mom. Sophia sells herself to take care of her family. I found Sophia a stronger person than Raskolnikov.
I also liked his friend  Razumikhin. He was also poor and an ex student like Raskolnikov but has a more positive attitude towards life and helps Raskolnikov a lot.
Svidrigailov is another crazy guy who seduces many ladies, mentally torments many people due to which they kill themselves. He kills his rich wife.
The whole book has many moral and ethical discussions, dissecting good and bad.
I kept thinking that if it is so difficult to grasp, it must have been so difficult to conceptualise and write this whole book. It is no doubt a classic because Dostoevsky had an insight of people's feelings and thought process. It was as though he could see through people's mind. That's why writers and readers analyse this book till date.
This book is really intense  and cannot be taken lightly. I might have to reread it to comprehend it further more.

Freud regarded Dostoevsky as one of the greatest literary psychologists in history, second only to Shakespeare (as quoted in the book)