Oblomov
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Product Description
Review
"Long before Jerry Seinfeld and Samuel Beckett, there was Ivan Goncharov, a minor government official in czarist Russia, and his classic novel about an ordinary Russian aristocrat mired in his own extraordinary inertia."--Chris Lehman, "Bookforum"
--Bookforum --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
--Bookforum --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Product Description
Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is a member of Russia's dying aristocracy - a man so lazy that he has given up his job in the Civil Service, neglected his books, insulted his friends and found himself in debt. Too apathetic to do anything about his problems, he lives in a grubby, crumbling apartment, waited on by Zakhar, his equally idle servant. Terrified by the bustle and activity necessary to participate in the real world, Oblomov manages to avoid work, postpone change and - finally - risks losing the love of his life. Written with sympathetic humour and compassion, Oblomov made Goncharov famous throughout Russia on its publication in 1859, as readers saw in this story of a man whose defining characteristic is indolence, the portrait of an entire class in decline.
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First Sentence
ILYa Ilyich ObLomov was lying in bed one morning in his flat in Gorokhovaya Street in one of those large houses which have as many inhabitants as a country town. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
ILYa Ilyich ObLomov was lying in bed one morning in his flat in Gorokhovaya Street in one of those large houses which have as many inhabitants as a country town. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of my favourite novels, and one of the very finest of the golden age of Russian literature in the nineteenth century, up there with Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky.
Goncharov only wrote a handful of books (3 novels and a travelogue), and of these Oblomov is by far the best (although his final novel, The Precipice is under-rated and of interest too). Oblomov is the simple story of a nobleman in Tsarist Russia who has plenty of opportunities for success in love and life, but who finds it very difficult to take them - or indeed to do anything decisive at all other than laze around.
Oblomov seems to embody potential unfulfilled and a stubborn to change and take on new ideas, and he has been seen by many as a metaphor for pre-revolution Russia. 'Oblomovism' has apparently become a common term in Russia, meaning, of course, procrastination or inaction.
Amazingly for a book about seemingly so little, Oblomov glides by, perhaps because it is so well written. This is a singular and fascinating novel, with some stunningly detailed and well drawn characters. It may be of a very different style to most modern books, but I wuld strongly recommend it.
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is a wonderful story of an extremely lazy and kind-hearted nobleman who sees his life and only love waste away before his eyes, but cannot bring himself to act to prevent it. It is a delightful evocation of the comical and melancholy life on a Russian estate and a sad and gripping portrait of a good man undone by his own lethargy.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
4.5 stars. This is classic Russian literature (nearly) at its best. I didn't notice any typos and the translation (as far as I can tell) is excellent, since there was never any confusion or odd wording. The characters are very well-drawn and the story was never boring, even though there are plenty of long passages with very little going on. I could identify strongly with some of the characters and have a lot of respect for the author's psychological insight into different types of people. The introduction is informative and interesting without giving too much of the book away, as is usually the case. It mentions that the book was written in different stages, over a long period of time, and this can be seen in the writing. There was something I didn't like about the story, towards the end, which is why I have given it a half star less, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I think it has something to do with inconsistency on the part of one of the main characters, or perhaps only the incomplete portrayal of the same. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this book to lovers of the genre, and to those who like their books with a healthy dose of analytical insight into the human condition.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Gave up at page 100
As I said in the title of this review, I gave up after 100 pages, so this is naturally an incomplete review. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. R. J. Jakeman
Oblomov for the 21st Century
Well, this is a great novel. I started this a few times over a period of about three years and couldn't quite get into it so it sat on my book shelf waiting patiently until this... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jacko the Monkey
strange cover art
This is a superb novel, do not misunderstand me; but what intrigues me is Penguins strange decision to put a painting of Garshin (an even more superb writer) by Ilya Repin on the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Guy Van Driessche
A story of indolent beauty.
Oblomov left me sobbing towards its conclusion, a reaction I did not anticipate at the outset. I found that as the story progressed I became more and more engrossed in a character,... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Room For A View
Hamlet like?
"To be or not to be, that is the question!.."
The famous words, the famous direction of philosophising. Oblomov, just like Hamlet, answers "No", but in a different way. Read more
The famous words, the famous direction of philosophising. Oblomov, just like Hamlet, answers "No", but in a different way. Read more
Published on 21 May 2009 by DB
Life For Nothing
Goncharov asks the universal questions "what is life and why are we here?" in this quite sublime and ethereal exposition of a man (Oblomov) who is too lazy and apathetic save for... Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2008 by demola
Liked Oblomov
I read OBLOMOV from a recommendation and what actually made me to buy it was because my friend considered it to be one of his favorite book of all time. Read more
Published on 7 July 2006 by Jesi
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