In late nineteenth century Russia, a group of young people reject the standard cultural mores of their time and join the Populist movement. They "go amongst the people," living the lives of simple workers and peasants rather than lives of affectation and luxury. The novel centers on the lives of several of these young people, including Alexey...More
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev(November 9 [O.S. October 28] , 1818 – September 3, 1883) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, translator and popularizer of Russian literature in the West.
His first major publication, a short story collection entitled A Sportsman's Sketches (1852), was a milestone of Russian realism. His novel Fathers and Sons (1862) is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century fiction.
Turgenev's artistic purity made him a favorite of like-minded novelists of the next generation, such as Henry James and Joseph Conrad, both of whom greatly preferred Turgenev to Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. James, who wrote no fewer than five critical essays on Turgenev's work, claimed that "his merit of form is...More
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev(November 9 [O.S. October 28] , 1818 – September 3, 1883) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, translator and popularizer of Russian literature in the West.
His first major publication, a short story collection entitled A Sportsman's Sketches (1852), was a milestone of Russian realism. His novel Fathers and Sons (1862) is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century fiction.
Turgenev's artistic purity made him a favorite of like-minded novelists of the next generation, such as Henry James and Joseph Conrad, both of whom greatly preferred Turgenev to Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. James, who wrote no fewer than five critical essays on Turgenev's work, claimed that "his merit of form is of the first order" (1873) and praised his "exquisite delicacy", which "makes too many of his rivals appear to hold us, in comparison, by violent means, and introduce us, in comparison, to vulgar things" (1896)
Book Summary
In late nineteenth century Russia, a group of young people reject the standard cultural mores of their time and join the Populist movement. They "go amongst the people," living the lives of simple workers and peasants rather than lives of affectation and luxury. The novel centers on the lives of several of these young people, including Alexey Dmitrievich Nezhdanov, the illegitimate son of an aristocrat, who seeks to radicalize the peasantry and involve them in political action. Turgenev's novel is a complex and thought-provoking exploration of the Populist movement and its adherents. It is a story of idealism, passion, and ultimately, failure.
Ivan turgenev
