Fathers and Sons is considered a classic of Russian literature. Although I had never heard of him before Ivan Turgenev is up there with Tolstoy and Dostoevsky as one of the most talented and influential writers of his generation.
Fathers and sons is basically a story about two generations in conflict. Russia has a history strewn with political, social and often bloody upheaval and this book focusses on a particular period in Russian history when reforms were on the rise changing the traditional relationship between peasants and wealthy landowners. A new generation of free thinkers were emerging from universities with new ideals and radical ideas for changing social norms. This creates a great deal of tension between the old school 'Aristocrats' and new school 'Nihilists' who maintain that nothing in society has any worth or value.
Arguably the main character is Yevgeny Vasil'evich Bazarov; a young nihilist student who comes to stay with a friend's family in the countryside. Before I came across Bazarov I thought I knew what cynicism was, I've been called cynical myself quite a few times, but it seems I didn't have a clue of how far someone can take it.
Bazarov thinks everything is rubbish. When I say “everything” this is no exaggeration. Love? Nonsense. Romance? A joke. Tradition? Forget it. Marriage? Waste of time. A good example is that Bazarov's ambition in life is to become a country doctor and yet he tells anyone who will listen that he doesn't believe in medicine. He holds everyone and everything in contempt, that is until he meets Anna Sergeevna Odintsova and, rather inconveniently, falls completely in love with her.
There are quite a few other characters but for the most part they are eclipsed by Bazarov's enormous ego, easily the size of any farmhouse. However for all of his somewhat hypocritical bluster Bazarov is not a fool nor a bad person, just young, misguided and suffering with a severe case of 'angry young man' syndrome. When he offends an aristocrat he is staying with Bazarov is challenged to a duel which he wins by shooting his opponent in the leg (albeit by good fortune rather than deliberately aiming) he could have killed the aristocrat with his second shot but instead chose to provide medical assistance and help him back to his house.
The book is well put together and most certainly an interesting read not just because of the colourful, believable characters but also because of the many glimpses of Russian culture, attitudes and habits the reader sees. I can honestly say I doubt I've ever learned so much from reading a work of fiction. Sadly it is not all positive; at times the story dragged on. More than once I put the book down feeling tired after reading 30 pages to suddenly discover, to my great consternation, that I had in reality only read 10 pages. For the most part not a great deal happens except conversations between characters. There are one or two moments in the book where I found I was so excited I couldn't put it down but this was rare.
Overall it was a valuable book to read and I enjoyed it. It was an excellent introduction to Russian fiction and I hope to read more of the same.
Rating 4/5
By Chris
I've sadly not had a lot of good luck with Russian lit in general but this one was one of the exceptions to the rule. I enjoyed it, especially the parent-child dynamic.
ReplyDeleteLike Amanda, I haven't had much luck with Russian literature - I read Crime & Punishment when I was probably too young for it and it's definitely put me off. I do like the sound of the themes in this one though.
ReplyDeleteI loved Turgenev,although he is one of those writers that seems to have fallen by the wayside, which is strange because at one point he was praised by Henry James and Joseph Conrad, both of whom greatly preferred Turgenev to Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky.Unlike your previous commentators, I went through a great Russian Lit stage in my late teens, and pretty much loved all that I read.
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes on 2011.
Parrish.
I loved this one when I read it last summer. There was something about the two father-son dynamics that I was fascinated by, and the conflict between old and new. I definitely want to search out some of his other work for future reads!
ReplyDelete@ Amanda: I've been given a load of Russian books as a Christmas gift so I'll be working my way through them over the next few months. I hope they are all as good as Fathers & Sons but I suppose that is unrealistic in some ways
ReplyDelete@ Sam: I've heard Crime and Punishment is quite a challenge. It isn't on my TBR list at the moment but I plan to add it one day
@ Parrish Lantern: I'm pleased to find someone who liked Russian lit! lol I have another Turgenev book but I am certainly planning on keeping an eye out for more of his stuff. I was very surprised to read he had a turbulant relationship with Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.
@ Allie: It did grab my imagination and I can say I have never read a book similar to it. Very enjoyable!
Chris
I ve a nice hardback copy of this from folio socieety I picked up at a book sale really should read it ,happy new year ,all the best stu
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favourite books, and I enjoyed reading your write up. I feel you got Bazarov's character down quite nicely. I liked the contrast between him and his friend, and how the characters and relationships shift throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteMan, I love Russian Lit. What great presents!
@ Winstonsdad: Yes, give it a read, it really is worth it :o)
ReplyDelete@ Toni: Thanks, Bazarov was a challenging character and I think he personifies quite a timeless theme: The dissatisfied youth. I love strong characters in a book as it can make or break a story in my view.
Chris
HA. I was supposed to have read this for a Literature class in uni, but I just couldn't do it. The same goes for most of the Russian literature books that I've tried. I always think it's probably bad timing, but now I'm wondering if it was just the bad pacing? Who knows. I probably won't get around to this one again!
ReplyDeleteI've just started my first great Russian novel, which is War and Peace. I'm only a few chapters in, so I can't really form an opinion yet. However, Fathers and Sons is on my classics project list for 2011, so hopefully I'll find I like Russian lit!
ReplyDelete@ Clover Sorry to hear you don't like Russian lit, this was my first Russian book and I really enjoyed it so I hope the others are just as good (if not better)
ReplyDelete@ Erin: War and Peace is on my TBR list. I have heard it's a challenge so i'm looking forward to it. I plan to read alot of Russian lit this year
Chris