- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; New edition edition (5 Mar 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0192833928
- ISBN-13: 978-0192833921
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 399,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Fathers and Sons (Oxford World's Classics)
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Product Description
Product Description
Turgenev's masterpiece about the conflict between generations is as fresh, outspoken, and exciting today as it was in when it was first published in 1862. The controversial portrait of Bazarov, the energetic, cynical, and self-assured `nihilist' who repudiates the romanticism of his elders, shook Russian society. Indeed the image of humanity liberated by science from age-old conformities and prejudices is one that can threaten establishments of any political or religious persuasion, and is especially potent in the modern era. This new translation, specially commissioned for the World's Classics, is the first to draw on Turgenev's working manuscript, which only came to light in 1988.
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'NOTHING to be seen yet, Peter?' Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
'NOTHING to be seen yet, Peter?' Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'Fathers and Sons' is arguably Turgenev's greatest work. It is very accessible to the reader, and excellently written. Turgenev is renowned for his masterful ability to construct realistic dialogues and this novel does not disappoint in this respect. But 'Fathers and Sons' is also a novel of ideas and Turgenev analyses some of the ideas and sentiments which were later to have such an important influence on Russian society.
This novel follows Bazarov, a self-proclaimed nihilist, and his friend and pupil Arkady Nikolayevich Kirsanov as they return from their studies in Petersburg to the province in which their fathers reside. The tale is tangled with arguments and discussions about politics and philosophy, and of course it is also complicated by a heavy dose of love. As another reviewer has mentioned, the author's treatment of nihilism as a philosophy is particularly interesting and enlightening.
Turgenev is adept, as other reviewers have noted, at accurately describing different emotions and even at evoking those emotions in his readers; something of which precious few writers are capable. The subject of love, both romantic and mat/paternal, is dealt with extremely skilfully by the author and betrays the understanding of someone who has undoubtedly been exposed to those feelings himself.
'Fathers and Sons' then, leaves the reader with the sense that he/she has participated as a quiet observer in Bazarov and Arkady's journeys, and that Turgenev has enabled one to better appreciate love and the relationship between father and son, amongst other things. This is a book that deserves to be read, appreciated, and pondered over long after it has been closed. It's core relevance has not been diminished by the century-and-a-half since it was written.
This novel follows Bazarov, a self-proclaimed nihilist, and his friend and pupil Arkady Nikolayevich Kirsanov as they return from their studies in Petersburg to the province in which their fathers reside. The tale is tangled with arguments and discussions about politics and philosophy, and of course it is also complicated by a heavy dose of love. As another reviewer has mentioned, the author's treatment of nihilism as a philosophy is particularly interesting and enlightening.
Turgenev is adept, as other reviewers have noted, at accurately describing different emotions and even at evoking those emotions in his readers; something of which precious few writers are capable. The subject of love, both romantic and mat/paternal, is dealt with extremely skilfully by the author and betrays the understanding of someone who has undoubtedly been exposed to those feelings himself.
'Fathers and Sons' then, leaves the reader with the sense that he/she has participated as a quiet observer in Bazarov and Arkady's journeys, and that Turgenev has enabled one to better appreciate love and the relationship between father and son, amongst other things. This is a book that deserves to be read, appreciated, and pondered over long after it has been closed. It's core relevance has not been diminished by the century-and-a-half since it was written.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Truely well worth reading, your life will be richer from the experiance.
As a novel is is an excellent example of 19th century Russian realism. Turganev keeps the character list small, the settings are limited and little action takes place.
However it is a descriptive masterpiece, the characters are richly portrayed, and little details add colour and dare i say it - realism.
Turganev writes in a way which produces intense sympathy in the reader for his characters; one's heart breaks for the fathers of both proagonists, bewilded by the rebellion their sons' exhibit and desparate not to alienate them. (Perhaps the novel is more relevant to comtemporary society than one might think.)
If one looks deeply enough one will find pathos, joy and even humour.
Much lighter than many of the so-called classics this would make absorbing plane / train / wet sunday afternoon reading.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was a set text on my comparative fiction course at university - it took barely a day to complete. What gives it a modern feel is its emphasis on dialogue rather than the weighty descriptive pieces which tend to characterise Victorian prose. Any polyglot will tell you that much is subtly lost in all translations. My translation was particularly sloppy at times - but the central themes were nevertheless conveyed to me, teaching me a little about the Nihilist movement abounding circa 1860 although not too much about Russian society. Indeed, the novel has a certain cosmopolitan feel to it. Bazarov's dogged, dry contempt towards Romantic 'rubbish' is striking and often amusing, while Madam Odintsov provides an interesting female counterpart, who may or may not be harbouring 'Romantic' sentiments herself, beneath her Russian ice queen facade. The only moments to leave at least a short-term impression on the reader include the voiced philosophical musings of these two characters, for whom happiness always seems to be 'existent elsewhere'.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Timeless classic - shame about the translation
This is the story of two young men Arkady and Bazarov as they travel between the ciy, the houses of their parents, and the house of the beautiful widow Odintsova. Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2007 by P. G. Harris
Competition where there should only be love...
Ivan Turgenev is one of those dusty old masters of Russian literature, crowded out by Chekhov, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2007 by stevieby
very good read
I thought this book would be a boring dull russian saga but I was mistaken, I was hooked into this story from the begining, I found the idea easy to follow and could picture the... Read more
Published on 27 July 2007 by T. M. Parsons
Why we still got all these castes?
Turgenev's strenght is his capacity to arouse genuine emotions in the reader. He is a master in portraiting human moods and psychological tensions, like frustration,... Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2006 by Luc REYNAERT
Nihilism dissected
FATHERS AND SONS treats Nihilism far more succinctly than any book I can think of and brought the idea to the ordinary mind through true to life characters that we can relate to. Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2005 by Sergey Vasilev
Not as heavy going as you think.
Don't believe all everyone says! I found this book perfectly easy going, and on a par with Austen in this respect, as a lot of it is conversation (which means little trudging... Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2001 by katherine.poole@virgin.net
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