My favorite contemporary novelist, Haruki Murakami, talks about his favorite novel (and incidentally my favorite novel of all time since junior high), The Great Gatsby, at PopMatters.
Whenever Murakami speaks, he enlightens me on one matter or another. I was curious as to what he would say about The Great Gatsby, and here is an example of one way he describes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book:
Fitzgerald splits his own point of view into three characters in this novel: protagonist Gatsby, narrator Nick and rival Tom. The portrayal of the three characters is astonishing. This is what any novel should convey.
He ends the interview by saying he aspires to be more like Dostoevsky in his future writing. This is the 2nd time in recent months that he’s mentioned Fyodor Dostoevsky; in a previous interview, he stated that “the best is yet to come,” citing Dostoevsky’ last brilliant works.
But if you ask me about my goal, I’d have to say it’s (19th-century Russian novelist Fyodor) Dostoyevsky. This may be too ambitious, but I guess it’s better to set yourself high goals.
Nobody has gone beyond the deep and comprehensive scope of the stories he created in his later years.
Just like Jay Gatsby gazed at a green light far away on the other side of the river, I will continue to gaze at a similar universe of narratives.
Writing Under a Pseudonym 
Young hot male writer at Camp M had his craft class read Crime and Punishment; it was part of his reading list on the city. I read it as a teenager and want to reread it, but have been told to get the Constance Garnett version and no other.
Oh wait, were you in his class? If you were, sorry for being a know-it-all…