Fathers and Sons

Nov 18, 2012 knig rated it it was amazing

Fathers and Sons (FS) apparently pleased no one on in Russia on publication, and if not precisely ‘shocked’ the muchadumbre, then surely ruffled feathers and rubbed salt in fresh wounds: that, in any event, is the general promise in the blurb on the back cover of the book. Goody. I like a scandal better than the next person, for sure. So I tore into it with gusto.

Alas, though. There is no scandal to be had here. I mean, not even remotely: not even a whiff of it. The big brouhaha seems to evolve Fathers and Sons (FS) apparently pleased no one on in Russia on publication, and if not precisely ‘shocked’ the muchadumbre, then surely ruffled feathers and rubbed salt in fresh wounds: that, in any event, is the general promise in the blurb on the back cover of the book. Goody. I like a scandal better than the next person, for sure. So I tore into it with gusto.

Alas, though. There is no scandal to be had here. I mean, not even remotely: not even a whiff of it. The big brouhaha seems to evolve around the character of Bazarov, a self proclaimed nihilist, who does naught else but pontificate grandly throughout: rejects everything on principle (or perhaps as a principle) (as being outmoded, unscientific and stupid), but has no new platform to offer. As he puts it, ‘first lets destroy everything, raze it to the ground, and we’ll worry about re-building later’. Having said that, there is no razing to be done here either: FS is really very peaceful: the plot line is singularly simple (in fact, if it were any simpler, there’d be NO plot line). Two rather lazy graduates, Arcady and Bazarov, travel from one paternal home to another, back and forth, stopping off on the way at Nicholshoe, the estate of two sisters (Katya and Anna Odinskaya, who become the love interests respectively) which conveniently lies exactly on the ‘flight path’, thus ensuring a straightline trajectory back and forth, the main point of which is not to bother the reader too much with the intricacies of plot. Just for the sake of completeness, although this is a character driven novel, there isn’t an overabundance of those either. Arcady and Bazarov are conveniently ‘only’ children (a rather contrived coincidence at a time when there were just no stoppers on procreation). This of course is a ploy to create an chamber ensemble where philosophical ideas can flow purely and purposefully without dilution from multiple voices. So, having set up this simple mis-en-scene, Turgenev sets on to the nitty gritty then.

Bazarov isn’t going to shock anyone today. In fact, his raison d’etre is practically the building blocks of our modern ‘yoof’: rebels without a cause. Bazarov (who did have a cause) has, in fact, been reincarnated in that iconic trope of our times, the ‘Kevin’. This might very well be a Britishism, but everyone will know what I mean.

But why was Bazarov so shocking back then? Clearly, I can’t let this go. I mean, Bazarov shocked a whole nation in 1861, what kind of apathetic reader can let this slide by without further investigation if they don’t know why? Deep internet trawls reveal a background of a humiliated intelligentsia on the back of the loss of the Crimean War, aware Russia has been left behind in the European technological, ideological and ‘business development’ stakes, and deeply split on how to fix this. The Slavophiles, whose Bakunin style popular concept of negation and denouncement of Alexander II reforms (including the emancipation of serfs in 1861) vs. The Westernisers, (Turgenev amongst them), who, although operating without a clear and consistent political doctrine, support all things western in their search for progression. The former view Bazarov as an insulting caricature of their cause, and the latter view him as a dirty rotten nihilistic scoundrel. Meanwhile, the West view him as the first proper literary nihilist and take to Turgenev like a house on fire.

Bazarov of course is only a half baked nihilist. He throws over his ideology at the alter of Madame Odinskaya’s feet, asks his mother for superstitious style old world blessings and engages in a positively Romantic style duel with Arkady’s uncle. Academics are having a field day, as we speak, at tracing the Byronic influences on his character.
The Slovophile vs. Westerniser match off is fascinating. This isn’t merely a semantic stand-off, a few after dinner soundbites being bandied about over brandy and a cigar. Now that I know about it, I can spot the elephant in the room practically in every chapter. At one point, Arkady and Bazarov praise Anna for her excellent use of Russian. This is a passing sentence, and its easy to just gloss over it, but ..really....exactly what language, I wonder, should Anna Odinskaya, a Russian aristocrat, born, raised and living in Russia, be speaking, if not Russian? Well, apparently, French. Knock me over with a feather, but those Russian aristocrats, from Catherine the Great’s time (circa 1799) to late nineteenth century got so big for their britches they started parleying in French from cradle to grave and couldn’t even speak their own language!! Of all, I say, all the high falutin’, sycophantic, preposterous things you could do, if this just doesn’t take the cake. (Well, I know the English did it too, but a full 1000 years earlier. After William of Normandy conquered and unified England in 1066, the court spoke French for the next 300 years. But, thats because the Normans were French to begin with!). My point is, in a situation like this, a Slavophile vs Westerniser disagreement might just take on slightly larger proportions than just a semantic joust.

One thing neither side disagreed on was the need to free the serfs. (Which partially happened in 1861). Russian serfs, from what I can gather, were little better off than slaves. They were, in fact slaves. Tied to the estate, forbidden to marry outside the estate, or move out of the estate, propelled into wars by their ‘masters’, toiling, unpaid, all day long.....yup, definitely slaves. This agreement to free the serfs, though should not be taken as a carte blanche acknowledgement of an intrinsic serf worth: on the contrary, both sides are united in a blanket wave of derision and general despising of the peasants. FS is littered with condescending and derogatory remarks about the serfs, who are invariably being flogged for being fools, drunkards and thieves. Having said that, they are also an integral part of country living, in the way Mamie rules the roost at Tara in Gone with the Wind.

Midway through the novel Turgenev does a very naughty love quadrangle turn and twist worthy of a Shakesperean aficionado. Everybody falls in love with everyone else before they shakily settle into the ultimate equilibrium. The Bazarov/Anna Odinskaya link is easily recognisable although none the less sad for it: two cynics who are too jaded for each other.

So then, thats for background. How does Turgenev do, with all of this? I got to shout it loud and clear from the mountaintop now: he delivers! I bawled like a baby twice in this reading, and thats saying something: I can’t remember the last time I had a teary eye. It was Bazarov ‘wot done it both times: first when he left his parents after only a three day soujourn, and in the end.....(you know what I mean). So this novel was shocking, in the end: I was shocked at how easily it moved me. I even had a moment of self doubt: was I going soft in the head? Well, much to my relief, I gather Turgenev elicits similar responses from many a reader, and in particular his contemporaries. Apparently Flaubert was astounded by him, George Sand looked up to him, James was influenced by him and only, apparently Meredith matches his pathos in terms of the ‘dying scene’ in terms of contemporaries. I haven’t read any Meredith whatsoever. Its looking like Egoist and the Ordeal of Richard Feverel might be next.

...more

flag 77 likes · Like · see review

Apr 07, 2017 Praveen rated it it was amazing

Fathers feel that they now belong to bygone times and sons feel that they have learned enough to indoctrinate new scientific theories and philosophies to the fathers. This happens today and this happened in this realistic classical work, based on the Russian society of mid 19th century.

The story begins with two brothers. First one, Nikolai Petrovitch, who had lost his wife, but there remained a sense of well-spent life, as his son was growing up under his eyes and, second Pavel Petrovitch, on t Fathers feel that they now belong to bygone times and sons feel that they have learned enough to indoctrinate new scientific theories and philosophies to the fathers. This happens today and this happened in this realistic classical work, based on the Russian society of mid 19th century.

The story begins with two brothers. First one, Nikolai Petrovitch, who had lost his wife, but there remained a sense of well-spent life, as his son was growing up under his eyes and, second Pavel Petrovitch, on the contrary, was a solitary bachelor, who was entering upon a certain kind of indefinite twilight period of regrets that are akin to hopes, and hopes that are akin to regrets, when youth is over, while old age has not yet come.

On one fine day of May 1859, Nikolai receives his son Arkady, who has just finished his graduation from University of Petersberg.

“So here you are, a graduate at last, and come home again,” said Nikolai Petrovitch, touching Arkady now on the shoulder, now on the knee. ‘At last!’.

Here comes the most interesting character of this novel Mr. Bazarov, who is a friend of Arkady and has returned with him. He stays at the estate of Arkady’s father for some time before going to his own family place.

Bazarov a very clever and intelligent young man who has a strong sense of conviction and aggression about his thoughts and words. He scorns art, family life, and women. He is representative of the theory of Nihilism. I did not know if this concept of nihilism was already popular at that time in Russia or was made popular by Turgenev through this book. Then I learned that the epithet of nihilism was in use since 1829 and this book only extended its interpretation.

Bazarov does not believe in anything. He only believes in himself. He is cynical about his love affairs and he does not at all care about the paternal tenderness. One day he sees the father of Arkady reading Pushkin and he says to Arkady..

‘The day before yesterday I saw him reading Pushkin’, Bazarov was continuing meanwhile.‘Explain to him, please, that that is no earthly use. He is not a boy you know; it’s time to throw up that rubbish. And what an idea to be romantic at this time of day! Give him something sensible to read.’

‘What ought I to give him ?’Asked Arkady.

‘Oh, I think Buchner’s Stoff and raft to begin with.’

Bazarov is full of scientific theories and he has plans for the mankind and for lower classes but Pavel Petrovitch, uncle of Arkady, slowly inculcates the vehement feeling of contempt to Bazarov, because of his nihilist ideology, which somewhere in the middle of the story, takes the form of a very unnecessary and egoistic clash in the form of a duel between them. This classic story moves ahead in style and covers multiple themes and contexts.

I came to know that Turgenev was an enthusiastic hunter and it was his experience in the woods of his native province that supplied material for ‘A Sportsman's Sketches’, the book that had first brought him a reputation.I have not read it yet, however, I witnessed a different sort of hunting abilities of the author in this book. He has hunted the prevailing belief and order through his character of Bazarov, whom he has made so strong that all existing philosophies die away in front of him. You may not like him for his rudeness and crudity but you would certainly get impressed by his astonishing brilliance.

I got a wonderful picture of Russian society, of its aristocracy, of its middle class and of its peasantry life. The content of this book is very rich in its prose and style. I read two different translations of this work. I enjoyed both. I found nothing unnecessary in the plot, one thing complemented the other. Conversation among the characters are extremely lively and at those places, I was nearly absorbed with the characters and ambiance. Though he has not created any dominated woman character here, the fancy towards young girls is well depicted. Conflict of personality in male characters and struggle against 'the clutches of circumstances’ among female characters can be felt at many places.

As a reader, I can not be more satisfied when I find the characters of a book so real and engrossing that they go directly into me and get embedded somewhere within me with their own viewpoints and tenets. I would very much like to read more of this great writer, I have already enlisted some of his major works. ...more

flag 69 likes · Like · see review

May 16, 2007 Tim Wagner rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: thegreats

If you want to read a great Russian novel, but your wrists are to weak for Karenina or Brothers K, this is your jam. It's almost allegorical in its deployment of the characters' various philosophies, but they're so human it's like watching Chekhov play across the page. For a book written in the mid-late 19th century, it's amazingly relevant: a pithy study of conservativism, liberalism, radicalism, quietism, and filial love and rebellion. The bad-tempered anarchist, Bazarov, is a character for th ...more

flag 59 likes · Like · see review

Feb 04, 2013 Aubrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-star, reviewed, translated, russian, 1-read-on-hand, r-2013, r-goodreads

My main issue with this book: too short. An odd thing to think of when the too short object in question is a Russian novel concerning cultural upheaval and aristocracy and all sorts of young ones running around screeching newfangled ideas at the top of their lungs, but 'tis true.

A while back, someone somewhere on Goodreads coined the term 'soap opera with brains', a literature type that hasn't popped up in my reading since The Age of Reason but can be (much more enjoyably, I dare say) applied h My main issue with this book: too short. An odd thing to think of when the too short object in question is a Russian novel concerning cultural upheaval and aristocracy and all sorts of young ones running around screeching newfangled ideas at the top of their lungs, but 'tis true.

A while back, someone somewhere on Goodreads coined the term 'soap opera with brains', a literature type that hasn't popped up in my reading since The Age of Reason but can be (much more enjoyably, I dare say) applied here with the highest accuracy. Amidst all the generation gaps and work force revolutions and 1860's Russia, there's quite a bit of drama that wears its intellectual trappings well enough to guarantee my enjoyment. And let me tell you, it is a rare thing indeed that guarantees my enjoyment when it comes to lighthearted webs of relationships both familial and romantic, so major kudos to the novel for that (sorry Turgenev, you're probably rolling in your grave at that last part, but it's true! and i'm grateful! you should be happy about that!).

Besides the unexpectedly delightful people with their unexpectedly delightful issues in dealing with each other, there are, of course, the ideas and their tectonic shifts, fully embodied in the young contorting themselves in every shape imaginable in their effort to get their old off their collective back. The word 'nihilism' gets thrown around quite a bit, but is rather a red herring if there ever was one that evokes more of the 'threat' Russia thought it was facing in the 1860's than the true stance lauded by Bazarov and Arkady, sons to their respective fanciful, 'romantic' fathers. Simply put, I understood both sides in both their positive and negative lights, and found their interactions and stances fascinating if not especially conducive to my choosing a side. Call it a preference for a mix and match rather than supposed neutrality, it both sounds better and makes more sense.

Finally, Bazarov. Like him, hate him, tie him to a tree and run far away, he won't leave you alone until you engage with him on some level, and then you'll never escape. There's nothing to more to say on that note.

However, as mentioned, the book was much too short. No sooner had I gotten a grasp on all the characters and their respective personal doctrines and settled in for the long run of social machinations both entertaining and insightful (Middlemarch, anyone?) boom! Climax, descent, conclusion, authorial note discussing the scandalized reception of the novel (if you can believe it) seven years after publication. Not cool, Turgenev. It's not fair of you to build up so well in such an intriguing manner, and then lop off all that hard won story potential and call it a day. But, you seemed pretty cool, so I will forgive you for it, and award four stars for what you did give us.

The reader is ready to take offense: he has to clear his own path rather than follow an established one. "Why should I trouble myself?" the reader involuntarily begins to think—"books exist for distraction not for breaking on'es head; and what would it cost the author to say how I should think about a particular figure—what he himself thinks of him!"

-Apropos of Fathers and Sons

Also, I can't fault a guy who writes stuff like the above too much. I just can't. ...more

flag 47 likes · Like · see review

Nov 13, 2012 MJ Nicholls rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, borscht-and-kvass, pre-1900s, oxford-classics

Tremendous. Forget the patchy, barely coherent A Hero of Our Time. This is your pre-Tolstoy, pre-Dostoevsky (almost—excusing a decade or two) Russian masterpiece. Do you want to be a nihilist with a casual interest in botany and medicine? Do you sneer at aristocratic values but have the hots for a milf with a vassal-soaked estate? Do you treat your father’s house like a hotel, and only pay fleeting three-year visits, during which you torment your poor mother and her servants? Do you want to snog ...more

flag 45 likes · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2016 Ivana Books Are Magic rated it it was amazing

This novel opens up with one son returning to his father. The son in question is newly graduate Arkady Kirsanov, who returns home accompanied by his nihilist friend Bazarov. Arkady’s father Nikolai welcomes his son and his friend Bazarov with open arms. Nikolai is naturally happy to have his son back, doing his best to make these young men feel welcome. However, the new philosophical system these young man advocate causes Nikolai to feel uneasy. What kind of philosophical system is it? Well, tha This novel opens up with one son returning to his father. The son in question is newly graduate Arkady Kirsanov, who returns home accompanied by his nihilist friend Bazarov. Arkady’s father Nikolai welcomes his son and his friend Bazarov with open arms. Nikolai is naturally happy to have his son back, doing his best to make these young men feel welcome. However, the new philosophical system these young man advocate causes Nikolai to feel uneasy. What kind of philosophical system is it? Well, that would be nihilism and these two young man are very anxious to advocate it. As anxious and willing to prove they can change the world with their ideas as only young men can be.

Their actions are not always in accordance with their beliefs, as the novel will show. In many instances, their belief in nihilism would be put to test. If Candide was a critique of a philosophical system that is unrealistically positive, Fathers and Sons is a critique of one that is overly negative. This ideology of negative will be questioned in this novel. The ideological advocate of this negative system in this novel is Bazarov. He is a nihilist, a person who does not believe in anything. It is obvious that Arkady Kirsanov is heavily influenced by him. Moreover, Kirsanov is not the only one since Bazarov seems to possess a fair amount of charisma. People react strongly to him, either positively or negatively.

The title of the novel ‘Father and Sons’ captures very well the essence of this novel. This novel describes the unavoidable gap that exists between parents and children. Moreover, it describes the gap caused by time itself, the gap between different time periods that is not always as easy to cross as we might think. Tennessee Williams said that time is the greatest difference between two places and in many ways, he was quite right. At different times in our lives, we carry a different energy with us and even when we see things in the same way, we don’t approach them in the same way- if you know what I mean. Anyhow, the gap tackled in this novel is not only the one existing between generations but also between different levels of society. I might even say that it is about the gap between the sexes. This novel is all about differences, how we perceive them, what do we do about them and why. It The differences that inevitably exist between classes, between sexes, between characters, between souls and even the differences between the beautiful and complex land that Russia is.

We learn about these things by following these two young men, both of them are, because of their views (and possibly also their youth) coming into conflict with their parents and the world that surrounds them. They are very different but in many ways, also quite similar. The joys of youth! Don’t we all miss it sometimes? That nervous energy? That constant urge to set things going, to make a difference, to change the world? It is as revitalizing as it is tiring, youth is, perhaps that is why it can’t hold its balance forver. Youth has its charms and so do these two. Both young men are complex and well developed characters. However, in novel, just like in their relationship, Bazarov is the one that dominates and sets things in motion. Kirstanov keeps us, he has his personality and ideas, but in terms of philosophy, it is clear that he is mainly copying his nihilist friend. If nothing, Bazarov has a great influence over him! No wonder, for as I said, there is something attractive about this character. It is clear that Bazarov is the one that really tries to live by his not-beliefs (or should I say beliefs?).

Not believing in anything is also a kind of belief, isn't it? An atheist believes that there is no God and what is that but a belief? If you have a belief, then you have a dogma…and before you know it, there comes a belief system. We have all changed our belief systems over time. We believe one thing, that something happens that makes us see things in a new light. Bazarov is so sure of his no- belief system, but he is falling into his own trap. If you have dogma then you have a religion or something similar to it. Take for example communism, it is a sort of religion (or ideology if you will), in many counties it even mimics religious rituals. To know something for sure is very difficult, so people cling to beliefs- and beliefs are dangerous for obvious reasons- they may and may not be true. However, what other choice do we have? Anarchism? We all develop our belief systems, whatever we might call them, and often they’re not as constant as we would like them to be…. but really why we are so stubborn in instating that answers to changeable situations must be constant? Human nature, I guess.

There was a lot of philosophical unrest (or searching for an ideal philosophy) in the recent history of mankind and this novel is really wonderful at capturing that. It really has some lessons to teach us, the modern readers. Many of its topics are something that I still find just as fascinating as when I first read this novel and I’m sure they will continue to fascinate me. In that sense, the novel really feels relevant and up to date. The way this novel is written really appeals to me. It asks rather than answers questions. I liked that the writer does not want to lead us to any conclusion, but rather just presents questions that we can answer for ourselves. He does that in an intelligent and easy way. Truly, this novel is a joy to read.

The novel is excellent when it comes to portraying the clash of philosophies, but it does not end there. The gap between the generations and its consequences is well described as are the difficulties and complexities of parent- child relationship. Well, as the title would suggest, a connection between father and son is an important theme. It could also symbolize the relationship between various philosophies, one of constant challenge and dispute.

There is another kind of relationship that is part of novel’s plot and that is one between a man and a woman. So, romantic love finds its way into the story and it is not out of place there. It is fortunate that the women showed in this novel are not stereotyped. They are as well portrayed as man. In particular, I liked the character of Odintsova. In addition, the way the writer portrays all the various social groups reminds me of other great Russian novelists. This is not an action-packed novel; it is a philosophical one. Hence it is more oriented towards the characters and their psychological development. In addition, it is a social study of sort, portraying the society as well as the individual. Fathers and Son is a novel that is meant to make you think.

There is a sense of subtle sadness that is present throughout the book that I found very appealing. The writing is fairly simple, yet there is something quite poetic about it. So, if other Russian classics frighten you with the number of pages, try this one. In my opinion it is just as wonderful as the other well-known ones; full of philosophy, moral dilemmas, soul searching and deep thoughts, it just comes in a smaller package. Seriously though, it really is great novel, a classic that lives up to its reputation.
...more

flag 34 likes · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2016 Nikos Tsentemeidis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: russian-literature

Μεγάλο έργο, αν και μέχρι τελευταία στιγμή δεν ήμουν σίγουρος για το 5. Πρωτότυπο βιβλίο. Πολύ έντονες οι επιρροές του από τη γαλλική λογοτεχνία. Άλλωστε για πολλά χρόνια ο συγγραφέας έζησε στη Γαλλία, αλλά και σε Γερμανία, Αγγλία.

Οι χαρακτήρες μου θύμισαν Μπουβάρ και Πεκισέ από Φλομπέρ. Αν βρήκα κάποιο ελάττωμα είναι τα υπερβολικά στοιχεία στον χαρακτήρα του Μπαζάροφ. Είναι ένα έργο που προκάλεσε τεράστιες αντιδράσεις στην κοινωνία της Ρωσίας, θετικές αλλά και πολύ αρνητικές.

flag 33 likes · Like · see review

Feb 18, 2012 Edward rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own, russia-ukraine, fiction, 5-star, translated

Chronology
Introduction
Further Reading
Translator's Note

--Fathers and Sons

Notes

flag 30 likes · Like · see review

Aug 28, 2012 David Schaafsma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-19th-century

I re-read Fathers and Sons for a couple reasons; 1) I have been on a small Rereading Great Russian Novel kick the last couple years and 2) I was interested in what the book might have to say about the relationships between fathers and sons. As to #1, this novel was the first Great Russian Novel to achieve international fame, paving the way for--in my estimation—greater works from Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, but it’s also pretty legitimately great in its own right. As to #2, I think it’s less actuall I re-read Fathers and Sons for a couple reasons; 1) I have been on a small Rereading Great Russian Novel kick the last couple years and 2) I was interested in what the book might have to say about the relationships between fathers and sons. As to #1, this novel was the first Great Russian Novel to achieve international fame, paving the way for--in my estimation—greater works from Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, but it’s also pretty legitimately great in its own right. As to #2, I think it’s less actually about father and son relationships than generational cultural, political and philosophical differences in the Russia of the time.

The book features a youngish nihilist botanist Bazarov who asserts that he basically believes in nothing (which puts him somewhat to the left of anarchism, and well left of pragmatism, two lively nineteenth century frameworks for living) and who is completely engaging—if not all that likeable. This character in particular set off a firestorm of critique from the right (who saw it as an attack on traditional Russian humane values because they though Turgenev approved of Bazarov) and the left, especially nihilists, who thought Turgenev denounced/satirized Bazarov.

Turgenev, who was interested in depicting with a kind of social realism the Russia of mid-nineteenth century, was not interested in didacticism or political essays. His goal was to write a novel with complex characters, and in my opinion, pulls it off! He admitted he was fond of Bazarov as one of his characters, but disavowed any association with his cynical ideas. And when we see the chinks in Bazarov’s cynical armor, we get to like him a little. A little. But he’s never a dull character.

Bazarov is kind of (Lee, in a review I recall from weeks ago calls him) a nineteenth century punk, anti-social, anti-arts, who puts more faith in rationalism and science than metaphysics or grand theories. As he says, “What's important is that twice two is four and all the rest's nonsense.” He prefers to debunk ideas more than anything else. While he says “first let’s destroy everything, raze it to the ground, and we’ll worry about re-building later,” he’s really too lazy to do any of the actual razing. He’s a sort of slacker, a puppy, all bark.

Bazarov has a follower, Arkady, whom he accompanies to Arkady’s summer home, where the freeing of the serfs was taking place (abut the time slaves were being freed in this country). Arkady mainly just agrees with everything Bazarov says. Has a kind of man-crush on him, but he has no ideas of his own. Arkady’s Dad Nikolai and his uncle Pavel, old school humanists who want to Do Good in the World, are exasperated by these new-fangled ideas.

Though Bazarov is the most memorable central character, my favorite character in the book is Uncle Pavel, for sure (Lee calls him a metro-sexual, which works), who is sophisticated and common-sensical and thinks the young guys are talking like idiots. As he says of them, “The fact is that previously they were simply dunces and now they've suddenly become nihilists.”

So the young pups leave for the country, run into a couple of bright and memorably strong-willed and articulate sisters, Katya and Anna, whom they promptly fall in love with, undermining all of their anti-idealism in a kind of comic way. One memorable line; Botanist Bazarov remarks to Arkady about Anna: “What a magnificent body, how I should like to see it on the dissecting table.” Ha! There, Bazarov is proven right: biology, love/lust triumphs over philosophy and big fancypants ideas, go figure. Comedy, all’s well, basically.

When the boys return to Arkady’s place the uncle, Pavel, for some reasons insists on dueling Bazarov, getting (lightly) wounded in the process, which has also a kind of comic story. Again, the Clash of Big Ideas comes down to two guys fighting (as if) to the death. Biology (testosterone) trumps philosophy. Again, comedy, all’s well.

The fathers are not prominently featured in this book, they basically shut up and let the young turks blather on, though they also love them a great deal. Parents in this book love their crazy kids and just want them around (and to maybe shut up about all the radical talk already!): Just fall in love, have babies, and grow up! So love conquers all, and Arkady stops being all revolutionary and marries and reconnects with Dad, whew, back in the fold.

I won’t tell you what happens to Bazarov, in the end, but I will say I liked the book quite a lot. You won’t forget Bazarov and Pavel.
...more

flag 27 likes · Like · see review

Sep 17, 2011 Darwin8u rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014

This is a novel that should probably be read by everybody (fathers, sons, mothers, daughters) at 18 years and again at 50 years. I'm somewhere in between, but it still enchanted me. 'Fathers and Sons' themes are universal, but also very relevant to Russia in the 1860s (post Emancipation Reform of 1861).

IT is about the struggles between generations. It is is a novel about beauty, love, relationships, power, social etiquitte, etc. The duality of the generations in 'Fathers and Sons' allowed Turge ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Nov 11, 2012 Fionnuala added it

Shelves: one-book-leads-to-another, translated-from-russian, metamorphosis

I started reading this looking for clues to William Trevor’s Reading Turgenev but I didn’t really find many - I’ve since realised that Trevor was mostly referring to a different Turgenev novel On The Eve. In fact Fathers and Sons has more in common with another book I read recently, Belinda McKeon’s Solace. Both novels are concerned with the gaps in comprehension between people of different generations, in particular between fathers and sons and the tensions that arise as a result of these gaps ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Dec 13, 2015 peiman-mir5 rezakhani rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: داستان-و-رمان

دوستانِ گرانقدر، داستان جهتِ چکیده نویسی چیز خاصی ندارد... نکتۀ قابل توجه و جالب در این داستان این بود که نقش اول هایِ داستان مدام در حالِ تغییر بودند، ابتدا «نیکلا پترویج» و «آرکادی» شخصیتِ اصلی بودند و سپس آهسته آهسته <بازارف> و «پاول» جایِ آن دو تن را گرفتند
به نظرِ من معتقدِ نبودنِ «بازارف» به خرافات و موهوماتِ دین و مذهب و همچنین امتناع از وابستگی و عاشق شدن نمیتواند طبقِ گفتهٔ کتاب، دلیل بر پوچ گراییِ « بازارف» باشد و اتفاقاً قبول نکردنِ سنت هایِ مردمش و مسائلِ بی ارزشِ دینی و مذهبی ا دوستانِ گرانقدر، داستان جهتِ چکیده نویسی چیز خاصی ندارد... نکتۀ قابل توجه و جالب در این داستان این بود که نقش اول هایِ داستان مدام در حالِ تغییر بودند، ابتدا «نیکلا پترویج» و «آرکادی» شخصیتِ اصلی بودند و سپس آهسته آهسته <بازارف> و «پاول» جایِ آن دو تن را گرفتند
به نظرِ من معتقدِ نبودنِ «بازارف» به خرافات و موهوماتِ دین و مذهب و همچنین امتناع از وابستگی و عاشق شدن نمیتواند طبقِ گفتهٔ کتاب، دلیل بر پوچ گراییِ « بازارف» باشد و اتفاقاً قبول نکردنِ سنت هایِ مردمش و مسائلِ بی ارزشِ دینی و مذهبی از هوش و خردگراییِ وی نشأت گرفته بود و البته در ادامه داستان عاشقِ « آنا» میشود ولی نویسنده با بی سلیقگی از این موضوع گذر کرد و در داستان به این موضوعِ خوب و عالی، بال و پر نداد
شاید این کتاب در حالِ حاظر برایِ جوانانِ اروپایی و آمریکایی بی معنی باشد، زیرا فاصلۀ بین نسل ها به میزان بسیار زیادی کم شده و درکِ متقابلِ نسلِ گذشته از نسلِ امروزی به خوبی در آمریکا و بخصوص اروپا، دیده میشود... ولی بسیاری از شهرها و خانواده هایِ ایرانی کماکان با این مشکل دست و پنجه نرم میکنند، به عنوانِ مثال در شهرِ تبریز که از شهرهایِ اصلیِ ایران محسوب میشود، این مشکلِ بزرگ به روشنی نمایان است و دیده میشود.. متأسفانه هنوز بسیاری از خانواده هایِ تبریزی خشک مذهبی میباشند و اسیرِ بیخردی و مذهب هستند.. هنوز دربندِ علی و حسین و ابوالفضل و عرب پرستی، مانده اند، ولی بسیاری از جوانان و قشرِ تحصیل کرده، از این خرافات و موهوماتِ دینی و مذهبی زده شده و نفرت دارند، ولی کماکان فشارِ نسلِ بیفکر و خودخواهِ گذشته بر رویِ شانه هایِ جوانانِ ایرانی سنگینی میکند
در کل کتابِ خسته کننده ای و کسالت آوری بود و یک روالِ تکراری و کسل کننده را تا پایان کتاب طی میکند... البته من شخصیتِ « بازارف» را پسندیدم، با آرامشِ خاطر پاسخِ پیروانِ بیخرد و خرافاتیِ دین و مذهب را میدهد و همچون همیشه پیروانِ نادان و متعصب دین و مذهب و افرادِ سنتگرا، به جایِ قبول کردنِ سخنِ منطقی و علمی، خشمگین میشوند و بحث را با داد و فریاد و مغلطه، خراب میکنند

خوشحالم که جوانانِ سرزمینم روز به روز آگاهتر از گذشته میشوند
<پیروز باشید و ایرانی> ...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Jan 30, 2013 Lee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A proto-punk and a proto-metrosexual demand satisfaction from one another because the first macked on the latter's bro's baby mama. The gentry can't really rage against the machine, they're jackdaws, domesticated dogs. Guys in their early twenties have apparently always sort of sucked, albeit in an intellectually sexy way as long as they don't lack confidence. Repudiate, repudiate, repudiate, champion only what's useful, no authority other than oneself. Blame testosterone plus higher education? A proto-punk and a proto-metrosexual demand satisfaction from one another because the first macked on the latter's bro's baby mama. The gentry can't really rage against the machine, they're jackdaws, domesticated dogs. Guys in their early twenties have apparently always sort of sucked, albeit in an intellectually sexy way as long as they don't lack confidence. Repudiate, repudiate, repudiate, champion only what's useful, no authority other than oneself. Blame testosterone plus higher education? But then you get older and believe principles are necessary and dress a little better. Interesting structural repetition of crisscrossing "two on two" dynamics throughout: two brothers and two younger dudes; two younger dudes and two sisters; two younger dudes and their parents. Good to see the young toughs either settle down or succumb. Overall, I loved this once Pavel showed up, one of those batchelors described as "queer" and "gay" in an 1861 way that probably helped establish current meanings. Loved the generational conflict, the intellectual argumentation that only required 25 pages to reach a boil, not 500+ like Naptha and Settembrini in The Magic Mountain. Loved the setting, and loved how the two young nihilistic gallants basically meet a hottie for a minute at a fancy dance and then hang at her place for a fortnight and lust after her but for the most part maintain their distance. A very modern novel in some ways -- and not at all in others. Loved the variously liberated ladies, best of all Bazarov's superstitious mah. Loved fatherly love for spirited sons. Generally, other than a few dips I was engaged and visualizing the world and following the explicit ideas throughout. Admired the complexity of the characters but didn't love the characters themselves, and therefore wasn't particularly moved by the requisite youthful struggles with love. I rooted for all of them, really, but more so hoped the novel would maintain its high-qual stability and maybe even take it up a notch or breakout. May have read it more interested in the structure than the story. Definitely a major canonical novel of ideas that seems ahead of its time at times but maybe I could've used some more wisdom and lyricism or a bit that broke from its established patterns? Monotextured but not dull, necessarily. A cute bastard child, a duel, "the jerky trot of shivering horses," a Russian anti-poetic rebel without a cause other than sarcasm and negation with which he'll change the world versus a principled quasi-aristocratic manscaper capable of high feeling and obtuse articulation providing high contrast for less exagerrated, more common characters. Solid but maybe without the peaks expected when hiking the canonical Russian mountain chain? ...more

flag 23 likes · Like · see review

Apr 16, 2013 Lit Bug rated it liked it

Shelves: russian, novels, fiction, owned, literary

I suspect ‘Fathers and Sons’ is too deeply a product of its particular time and place to be enjoyable now without a sense of the Russian history that has molded this novel into what it is. I began without a background, and though it was agreeable all the way through, I really didn’t find it gripping enough – surely it was an evergreen conflict, even if not on every count? The struggle between the titular Fathers and Sons is an eternal one, and I was surprised at my reluctance to engage with the I suspect ‘Fathers and Sons’ is too deeply a product of its particular time and place to be enjoyable now without a sense of the Russian history that has molded this novel into what it is. I began without a background, and though it was agreeable all the way through, I really didn’t find it gripping enough – surely it was an evergreen conflict, even if not on every count? The struggle between the titular Fathers and Sons is an eternal one, and I was surprised at my reluctance to engage with the text. Especially after I pored through the history of Russia from late 1700s to 1850s, as also tons of critical, well-argued, favorable postmortems of the novel after I found the novel unsatisfactory.

Nihilism isn’t easy to come by in people today in its unadulterated form – but every now and then, there are variations of it, bright glimmers of it in people which demarcate and emphasize the growing chasm between two generations. I wonder if it is the translation that went wrong (Richard Hare), or if the text itself wasn’t effective enough, like I found in a similarly celebrated Indian classic historical novel Untouchable (TU now onward) by Mulk Raj Anand. But anyway, I remained Stoic throughout, unaffected, without a trace of emotion at what I’d just read, a confirmed classic, an undefeated favorite of many that had taken Russians by storm when it was published.

Either my sense of Russian feeling/history isn’t strong enough yet to be able to comprehend the crisis this book represented, or it isn’t really that well-written to tug at my heart. I’m more inclined to think it is the latter, not out of vanity, but by experience of not caring for TU, while being torn apart by grief in A Fine Balance. They’re both about the same thing, but while TU is bland to me, AFB tugs at my heartstrings even today.

Given its short size, I’ll give it a try again some years later, armed with a better understanding of Russia, but I’m not quite hopeful of any change in my stance. ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2017 Mahima rated it really liked it · review of another edition

“It turns out there's empty space in my suitcase and I'm stuffing hay into it. That's just how it is in the suitcase of our lives; it doesn't matter what you stuff in, as long as there's no empty space.”

Whatever problems in the nineteenth century Russia Turgenev, through Fathers and Sons, touches at, all he does is simply portray them with the most stirring sincerity, and this sincerity becomes more important than the fact that he doesn’t provide any solution to these problems; in fact, he only “It turns out there's empty space in my suitcase and I'm stuffing hay into it. That's just how it is in the suitcase of our lives; it doesn't matter what you stuff in, as long as there's no empty space.”

Whatever problems in the nineteenth century Russia Turgenev, through Fathers and Sons, touches at, all he does is simply portray them with the most stirring sincerity, and this sincerity becomes more important than the fact that he doesn’t provide any solution to these problems; in fact, he only complicates them, and provides us with a means that would lead to reflection. There is no resolution. In fact, there is no overtly-structured plot to resolve to begin with, a stark contrast to the fiction being written in England at the same time. The novel’s over-arching arguments do not rely on any plot, which is almost dissatisfying in and of itself (which is not to say that there isn’t any action in the story); they rely, instead, on abstract senses that do not even hold any particular significance. What Turgenev really does is use the action throughout the story to develop his characters, to bring out their souls and minds and temperaments. What I was left with to mull over after having finished the book, more than anything else, was the personalities of the characters. And that inevitably led me to mull over what Turgenev is trying to say about life itself.

The narrator sometimes suggests that he himself doesn’t fully understand the characters, as if they have a life of their own, as if they have broken away of Turgenev’s control. And that is exactly what they seem to have done. This adds a level of unsolved depth to the characters. The characters retain a human mystery; they have human emotions that come to the surface, albeit still not solved, in the dialogue. The lack of a structured narrative and the presence of a myriad of abstract conversations reveal what we do not understand about life. Each of the characters has different psychologies, and yet they all struggle with the same questions of love and suffering as any other human being. Yes, the book is about the discourses dominating Russia in the nineteenth century, of which Nihilism is a big part, but limiting the book to just that would be to not see the big picture (which, again, is not to say that those discourses aren’t important). The big picture is the condition of human life, of humans struggling with existence. In that sense, it almost seems to be foreshadowing existentialism.

What is touching about this book is that there is nothing out of the ordinary in it. Even (view spoiler), instead of being a consequence of his view of life, as one would expect, is as random and cruel as real life is. And it is this ordinariness that best manages to capture the pain and suffering that nothing else could have. ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Jan 09, 2014 Ali rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

To begin with, I never intended to read 'Fathers and Sons' by Turgenev in the first place; rather, it was one of the lesser known works of this lesser known Russian master, 'Sketches from a hunter's album' that I sought so eagerly. But after searching for the latter endlessly, my efforts proved futile as I was unable to get my hands on it. Later, I remember stumbling upon an excerpt of 'Fathers and Sons', and it piqued my curiosity. The excerpt was such:

“Whereas I think: I’m lying here in a hays ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2015 Maru Kun rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century-lit, c-russia

I knew becoming a parent would be a lot of work but I wasn’t prepared for the pile of worry that came with it, nor for how quickly that pile would grow into a mountain.

It starts with the childhood illnesses: a thirty-nine degree fever? It must be meningitis. Then the real worries come, beginning with education. My nine year old has a B+ in drama and C in math. It’s all over: a life spent waiting tables before the big break which never comes. Don’t worry, we’ll be there for you son. In the teenag ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Jun 06, 2009 Evan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: my-faves, __in-my-collection, philosophy, russian-soviet-etc, 2011-reads, favorites

"Every single man hangs by a thread, a bottomless pit can open beneath him any minute, and yet he still goes on thinking up unpleasantness for himself and making a mess of his life." -Bazarov, in Fathers and Sons

Finally, a dusty old classic that lives up to its reputation. Turgenev's Fathers and Sons is pleasingly warm and crisply distilled vodka, a rich and pungent family saga that even a mildly disappointing heart-tugging finale can't ruin. It's like Russia's Catcher in the Rye but from way wa "Every single man hangs by a thread, a bottomless pit can open beneath him any minute, and yet he still goes on thinking up unpleasantness for himself and making a mess of his life." -Bazarov, in Fathers and Sons

Finally, a dusty old classic that lives up to its reputation. Turgenev's Fathers and Sons is pleasingly warm and crisply distilled vodka, a rich and pungent family saga that even a mildly disappointing heart-tugging finale can't ruin. It's like Russia's Catcher in the Rye but from way way back in 1862. And if you're not a fan of Catcher... don't let this comparison discourage you. Unlike Salinger, the narrator is omniscient, not first person, but in terms of zeitgeist this book has the same rebellious freshness. It remains one of the best novels ever written on inter-generational strife, and the way in which parents and their children negotiate those gaps. It is timeless and uncannily familiar.

The book's most famous character, Bazarov, is the beatnik hippie punk slacker of his day, convinced that nothing matters and that all oldsters are hopelessly squaresville. Bazarov's nihilism is, of course, absurd, and Turgenev knows it but generously allows Bazarov to be a well-rounded sympathetic character, deeper than a mere ideologue; much of what the young man says offers great food for thought. In his hard-headed youthful stubbornness, though, Bazarov fails to see the arbitrariness and lack of balance of his worldview, and in the mere reliance on scientific empiricism rejects his own assertions of nihilism without apparent awareness. With his arrogance, it seems somehow fitting that he is studying to be a doctor.

Even though the book delves into the histories of three families, the story is streamlined, intimate and never unwieldy. The back story and yearning of Pavel, the aristocratic uncle of Bazarov's best friend, Arkady, is very moving; a prime case in literature of an unsympathetic character fleshed out to gain the reader's empathy. The relationship between Bazarov and his father, who practices folk medicine to the mild amusement of his son, is incredibly touching. The romances are handled beautifully and are full of irony.

I loved the book and have to consider it, to date, my favorite Russian novel.

-------
(Kr@Ky, amended slightly in 2016) ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Jun 24, 2017 Σωτήρης Αδαμαρέτσος rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Υποστηρίζεται ότι ο Ντοστογιεφσκι έγραψε το Αδερφοί Καραμαζοφ και τον ήρωα του Ιβάν Καραμαζοφ ως σλαβοφιλη απάντηση στον Μπαζαροφ του Τουργκιενεφ. Εντούτοις οι πραγματικοί Πατέρες και οι πραγματικοί γιοι του έργου είναι οι άρχοντες και οι μουζικοι. Ο συγγραφέας γοητεύεται από την προσωπικότητα του Μπαζαροφ του μηδενιστη γιατρού που δεν εμπιστεύεται καμία αυθεντία. Για τους αριστοκράτες ο Μπαζαροφ και η υπεροπτικη αντιμετώπιση του απέναντι στην ζωή είναι κάτι πρωτοφανές γι αυτούς, ένας στυγνος αρ ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Nov 22, 2011 Sine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, to-read-again, e-book, 2016-reading-challenge

her klasik ve rus edebiyatı eseri gibi yıllardır okumayı bekliyordum ama benim için bu kitabı bir adım öne çıkaran şey turgenyev'in dostoyevski ve tolstoy ile bitmek bilmeyen kavgalarını öğrenmek ve tabi ki orhan pamuk'un sessiz ev'de nilgün'e bu kitabı okutması oldu.

kavgayı uzun uzun bu review'a yazmak istemiyorum, şuradan: http://akintiyakurek.blogspot.com.tr/... okuyabilirsiniz. fakat bu anlaşmazlıklarda ön plana çıkan ve bi nevi anlaşmazlığın sebebi de olan dostoyevski'nin rusya sevgisi ve her klasik ve rus edebiyatı eseri gibi yıllardır okumayı bekliyordum ama benim için bu kitabı bir adım öne çıkaran şey turgenyev'in dostoyevski ve tolstoy ile bitmek bilmeyen kavgalarını öğrenmek ve tabi ki orhan pamuk'un sessiz ev'de nilgün'e bu kitabı okutması oldu.

kavgayı uzun uzun bu review'a yazmak istemiyorum, şuradan: http://akintiyakurek.blogspot.com.tr/... okuyabilirsiniz. fakat bu anlaşmazlıklarda ön plana çıkan ve bi nevi anlaşmazlığın sebebi de olan dostoyevski'nin rusya sevgisi ve realistliğine karşın turgenyev'in batı hayranlığı ve romatikliğini eserlerinde, kurgularında ve karakterlerinde zaten görmemek imkansız, niye anlaşamadıklarını anlamak çok zor değil.

nasıl dostoyevski'nin eserlerinde hep kendisinden iz buluyor, kendisini yazdığını düşündüğümüz karakterleri okuyorsak; aynı şeyi biyografisine kısaca göz gezdirince turgenyev için de söylemek mümkün. en kural tanımaz karakteri olan bazarov bile en sakin, en normal dostoyevski karakterine neredeyse denk düşüyor; bu da yine gerçek bir centilmen olduğu anlatılan turgenyev ile tutarlı diyebiliriz. bu anlamda dostoyevski veya tolstoy gibi okuru "yoran" bir tarzdan çok derdini usul usul anlatan bir turgenyev var. biri daha iyi anlamında söylemiyorum bunu. o da güzel, bu da: ama yine de seçmek zorunda olsam yine dostoyevski derim; henüz dostoyevski'den üstün göreceğim bir yazarla tanışamadım. bununla beraber ivan ilyiç'in ölümü için yazdığım review'dan:

sanırım edebi eserleri tür değil de yazarın milliyeti olarak ayırma mantığının kaynağı rus yazarlar. çünkü yazım üsluplarından tutun yaptıkları tespite kadar o kadar derin, o kadar ince işliyorlar ki sizi de kitabı da; kitap bittiğinde farklı bir insana dönüşmüş gibi hissediyorsunuz.

...şu kısım hala geçerliliğini koruyor. daha sakin bir tarzının olması karakterler ve harika diyalogları vesilesiyle yaptığı muazzam tespitleri değersizleştirmiyor.

son olarak, canım orhan pamuk, boşuna nilgün'e bu kitabı okutmamış. zaten üzülüyordum, bu kitabı sessiz ev'den önce okumuş olsam daha iyi anlayarak, hakkını vererek üzülürdüm. ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Mar 01, 2017 NAMIK SOMEL rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: roman-novel

"Sönmek üzere olan kandile üfleyin sönsün.."

Hiç bir şeyin içi boş kalmıyor!
Yüreğini boşaltıyorsun!
Sevmem diyorsun! Seviyorsun!
Acı çekiyorsun.

Beyini boşalttığında, daha çok düşünüyorsun.
Umursamam diyorsun!
Umursuyorsun!

Tam bitirdim derken kışı, bahar geliyor.
Bir tomurcuk çiçek açıyor.
Meyve veriyor ağaç.
Isırıyorsun!

Hiç birşey yok olmuyor!
Varoluşun algısı mı?
Yoksa gerçek mi?
Kırılan taş ufalansa da yok olmuyor!

Tam yok olduğunu sandığında
"Küllerinden yeniden doğuyorsun "

Namık Somel / 3 ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Jun 22, 2015 Annie rated it it was amazing

***I will never get used to the way Russian novelists constantly switch from using first names to first name diminutives to patronymics to surnames to refer to characters. Never. I never will. I swear on Franz Kafka's grave, which I have visited and left flowers on.***

That aside, I liked this a lot more than I thought I would! I don’t know what I expected, exactly, but it wasn’t thins.

I was feeling pretty smug as Bazarov/Yevgeny/Vasilyevich/the doctor/whoever was gobsmacked by the terrible trage ***I will never get used to the way Russian novelists constantly switch from using first names to first name diminutives to patronymics to surnames to refer to characters. Never. I never will. I swear on Franz Kafka's grave, which I have visited and left flowers on.***

That aside, I liked this a lot more than I thought I would! I don’t know what I expected, exactly, but it wasn’t thins.

I was feeling pretty smug as Bazarov/Yevgeny/Vasilyevich/the doctor/whoever was gobsmacked by the terrible tragedy (for a nihilist) of falling in love. I hated him (he's absolutely insufferable and the older generation of Arkady's family is 100% right in saying he's a dick and entirely too trendy in his thinking, to the extent that even though Arkady's pretty much his mental slave, Bazarov is almost worse, because he believes basically everything he reads and parrots it unoriginally) but Turgenev does such an accurate job of portraying the physical symptoms of love that you feel Bazarov's struggle intimately, and you have to feel sorry for the sad sack all the same. He doesn’t change enough to satisfy, though, so you have to be pleased by his lonely ending.

This passage tickled me:
“That was a dream, wasn’t it? And who remembers dreams?”
“Who does remember them? Besides, love… is just a feeling one assumes.”
“Really? I very much like hearing that.”
Those were Anna’s words, and those were Bazarov’s; both thought they spoke the truth. Did their words hold the truth, the whole truth? They didn’t know it themselves, much less does the author. But their conversation went as if they completely believed one another.

This one too!
“You know that I”m frightened of you… and at the same time I trust you because you’re really very kind.”
“First, I”m not kind at all, and secondly, I’ve lost any importance for you, and you tell me I’m kind… It’s exactly like laying a wreath of flowers at a dead man’s head.”
“Yevgeny, we don’t have the power…” Anna began, but the wind started up, rustled the leaves and carried away her words.
“Now you are free,” Bazarov said after a short pause.

Aaand this one:
“It’s fun talking to you… like walking on the edge of a precipice. At first one’s nervous but then courage takes over from somewhere.’

And this delicate ending:
(view spoiler) ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2015 George Georgiadis rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: caviar

Σκοπός του Τουργκένιεφ σαφώς και δεν είναι να δημιουργήσει μια περίπλοκη ιστορία (άλλωστε η πλοκή εδώ είναι αρκετά απλή και δεν προκαλεί μεγάλες συγκινήσεις), αλλά στον αντίποδα ρίχνει το βάρος στην παρουσίαση δύο διαφορετικών κοσμοθεωριών.

Από τη μία, λοιπόν, βρίσκουμε τους "πατέρες", με παγιωμένες αντιλήψεις ως προς την επιστήμη, τους επίσημους θεσμούς και την πολιτική, και προσκόλληση σε παραδοσιακές αξίες όπως η θρησκεία και οι οικογενειακοί δεσμοί. Από την άλλη, οι "γιοι", κινούμενοι στα όρι Σκοπός του Τουργκένιεφ σαφώς και δεν είναι να δημιουργήσει μια περίπλοκη ιστορία (άλλωστε η πλοκή εδώ είναι αρκετά απλή και δεν προκαλεί μεγάλες συγκινήσεις), αλλά στον αντίποδα ρίχνει το βάρος στην παρουσίαση δύο διαφορετικών κοσμοθεωριών.

Από τη μία, λοιπόν, βρίσκουμε τους "πατέρες", με παγιωμένες αντιλήψεις ως προς την επιστήμη, τους επίσημους θεσμούς και την πολιτική, και προσκόλληση σε παραδοσιακές αξίες όπως η θρησκεία και οι οικογενειακοί δεσμοί. Από την άλλη, οι "γιοι", κινούμενοι στα όρια του μηδενισμού, διαρκώς αμφισβητώντας και περιφρονώντας σχεδόν καθετί τους έχει κληροδοτηθεί από τις προηγούμενες γενιές. Η αδιαλλαξία και η πίστη των δύο πλευρών στις ιδεολογίες τους οδηγεί αναπόφευκτα σε μια σειρά από συγκρούσεις που παρουσιάζονται κατά βάση μέσω διαλόγων αλλά ενίοτε και από παρουσίαση των εσωτερικών σκέψεων των ηρώων που δεν εξωτερικεύονται.

Θα μπορούσε να έχει δοθεί περισσότερη έκταση από τον Τουργκένιεφ στην περαιτέρω εμβάθυνση των συμπεριφορών και σκέψεων των πρωταγωνιστών καθώς και περισσότερη εμπλοκή των γυναικείων χαρακτήρων που φαίνεται να κατέχουν μια δευτερεύουσα θέση στην ιστορία. Κατά τα άλλα ένα πολύ αξιόλογο βιβλίο. ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Apr 23, 2012 Simona rated it really liked it

Quando penso alla Russia e ai suoi scrittori mi vengono in mente Dostoevskij e Tolstoj, ma posso dire che Turgenev può entrare a pieno titolo in questo trittico e questo romanzo ne è un esempio.
Ho viaggiato nella campagna russa, assaporando gli odori ed i profumi di questa terra, a contatto con personaggi come Bazarov, l'incarnazione del nichilismo, che mi ha accompagnato in questo percorso.
"Padri e figli" si concentra, non solo sul contrasto tra la conservazione dei primi e la contestazione de ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Apr 16, 2012 ·Karen· rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century

In the first 58 pages, up to the end of Chapter XI, the ideas are clear black and white, no equivocation or ambiguity. Arkady and Bazarov arrive at Arkady’s father’s estate, where the father, Nikolay Petrovich lives with his brother Pavel and Nikolay’s charming, extremely youthful what? lover? mistress? common-law wife? In any case they have a son together, but everything is sweetness and light, because Arkady is not resentful of the new heir: he is a thoroughly modern man, not nearly as scandal In the first 58 pages, up to the end of Chapter XI, the ideas are clear black and white, no equivocation or ambiguity. Arkady and Bazarov arrive at Arkady’s father’s estate, where the father, Nikolay Petrovich lives with his brother Pavel and Nikolay’s charming, extremely youthful what? lover? mistress? common-law wife? In any case they have a son together, but everything is sweetness and light, because Arkady is not resentful of the new heir: he is a thoroughly modern man, not nearly as scandalised by the irregularity of his father’s relationship as his father is himself. On the contrary he hopes pater will make an honest woman of Fenechka, even if she was the daughter of his housekeeper. His radical friend Bazarov finds his faith in the institution of marriage laughable. There is a fascinating climax in the debate between Bazarov and a somewhat foppish, decadent Pavel, an unworthy opponent set up to put all the strong cards into Bazarov’s hand. Bazarov really does come off well against these two ‘old’ gentlemen (neither of them above fifty, but then there is this new man, modern man who believes anyone over 35 should be relegated to the scrap heap. Respect for your elders? Pah!). He is there to show up their complacence and incompetence, to show how quickly the generation gap has appeared, to question all their assumptions and beliefs, and he does seem heroic in his radical rejection of the status quo.
Perhaps Turgenev should have left it there. It all begins to go wrong when Bazarov and Arkady buzz off to *** and start to meet women. Oh dear. Women with any amount of brain are ugly and strident and faintly ridiculous and earn nothing but Bazarov’s sarcasm. Women who are attractive are naturally empty-headed. But of course. Arkady asks his friend Bazarov:
“Why won’t you admit of freedom of opinion in women?” he said in a low voice.
“Because, my friend, I’ve observed that the women who think freely are hideous.”
Well, let’s be generous and say that maybe isn’t meant entirely seriously. Because the two friends have met Anna Sergeyevna Odintsova. Dignified, graceful, beautiful, intelligent. Capable of maintaining an interesting conversation for several hours, no less. Faced with such female perfection, the inevitable happens. After a fortnight at her house, Bazarov is in that state where ‘as soon as he started to think of her his blood was on fire.’ She is a widow of independent means, answerable to no-one and vaguely attracted to Bazarov herself, so where’s the problem, one might ask? Bazarov is his own problem. Odintsova belongs to that execrable class, the aristocracy – he claims she keeps a pet princess just for show – and further he will not allow himself any deeper feelings for the female of the species than carnal lust. Get what you want, and if you can’t, then go, there are plenty more fish in the sea, that has always been his motto. In any case he will not allow himself to be caught. Will he? Alas, I’m afraid he will. And does.
Anna Sergeyevna Odintsova is a mature lady of TWENTY EIGHT, who despite a certain longing for love is not going to be swept off her feet by a medical student with a dodgy future. This is the bit that is rather intriguing: is she just really cold (waaaay past it at twenty eight) or does she see the bleakness of his vision? Is it love that makes him look at the future and realize that it is empty, a wasteland? In any case things go badly off the rails after that. There is a peremptory visit to Bazarov’s parents, a doting couple who are disappointed when Bazarov, restless and spoiling for a fight with Arkady, or anyone really who might present himself, is off again after just two days. There is a speeding up of the action, but all of it destructive, an increasingly swift slide downwards, as if Bazarov is intent on his own annihilation.
This edition has a very informative introduction by Rosamund Bartlett that places Fathers and Sons in its historical context and goes a long way to explaining the huge controversy surrounding its publication. Poor Turgenev was attacked on all sides. The ruling classes disliked the portrayal of their generation, and the young radicals condemned him for the equivocal fate of Bazarov. “As Turgenev later conceded in a letter to (Pavel) Annenkov, it was likely ‘no author really understands what he is doing. There is a sort of contradiction here, which you yourself can never resolve, however you approach it.’” That contradiction is still palpable, and makes this a work of art rather than a political pamphlet.
...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Mar 14, 2016 GrauWolf rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Padri e figli... Già il titolo riassume l'essenza del romanzo: lo scontro generazionale che, nel bene e nel male, ha portato nuove ideologie nella Russia dell'ottocento.
Già nelle prime pagine si nota il leggero vento del cambiamento che inizia ad avvolgere la grande nazione, non è ancora il tempo delle rivolte, ma nel testo si riesce a percepire il primo accenno di scontento delle classi sociali più deboli.
I due protagonisti: Arkadij Kirsanov e Evgenij Bazarov sono appena usciti dall'università. Padri e figli... Già il titolo riassume l'essenza del romanzo: lo scontro generazionale che, nel bene e nel male, ha portato nuove ideologie nella Russia dell'ottocento.
Già nelle prime pagine si nota il leggero vento del cambiamento che inizia ad avvolgere la grande nazione, non è ancora il tempo delle rivolte, ma nel testo si riesce a percepire il primo accenno di scontento delle classi sociali più deboli.
I due protagonisti: Arkadij Kirsanov e Evgenij Bazarov sono appena usciti dall'università. Pur avendo delle personalità tra loro contrastanti sono grandi amici. Arkadij è figlio di un proprietario terriero, ed è molto legato al mondo “passato” del Romanticismo russo di Puskin. Evgenij è invece di origini più modeste e si definisce “nichilista” contrapponendosi all'aristocrazia e sognando l'arrivo del cambiamento e del progresso nella sua nazione. Quest'ultimo è un personaggio davvero interessante, che dà vita ad una serie di dialoghi geniali, ed è il simbolo di una nuova corrente di pensiero. Tra l'altro Turgenev si proclamò come l'inventore del termine “nichilismo”, una dottrina che influenzerà numerose opere letterarie e filosofiche.
Nonostante fin dal principio del romanzo i due amici condividano molte esperienze di vita; i loro destini avranno esiti davvero diversi tali da stupire il lettore, con una storia a metà tra l'ironia e la tragicità.
Non si riesce a comprendere da che parte stia l'autore, se si riconosca nei valori passati dell'Impero russo e della sua aristocrazia, o se sogni una nuova evoluzione sociale.
Apprezzabile nel romanzo è anche la scrittura: che non si può definire “scarna”, ma che è comunque molto scorrevole. Questa è una delle tante qualità di questo romanzo che nonostante sia stato scritto più di un secolo fa, riesce ad essere comunque molto attuale.
Un piccolo capolavoro della letteratura russa, che sorprende in ognuna delle sue tante sfumature.

L'uomo è in grado di comprendere tutto, e come vibra l'etere, e cosa avviene nel sole; ma come un altro uomo possa soffiarsi il naso diversamente da come se lo soffia lui, questo egli non è in grado di comprendere ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Jul 10, 2012 Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly rated it really liked it

Cheap and ubiquitous. I bought a copy once for the price of a newspaper. Months later, forgetting that I already have a copy, I bought another one because it was priced so low that it was practically a giveaway. Recently, seeing my two almost identical copies I decided to finally read it already, fearing that if I don't do so, I might forget again and be lured into buying another copy, cheaper and more handsome.

About halfway through the novel was where it lost a lone star from me. And 'twas not ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2012 Chrissie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: philo-psychol, soviet-union, hf, life-stages, russia, audible, love, 2014-read, classics

I REALLLLLY, really, really, really liked this. I fell in love with Yevgeny Vasil'evich Bazarov – yeah, the nihilist. I am not one to favor nihilism; it is the wrong philosophy to have in life. But you know how it is - the way you love your children. You love them regardless of their silly ideas, regardless of what they do, regardless of the mean things they may say to you. You still love them with all your heart. You would do anything to save them. Well, I fell in love with Yevgeny in that way. ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Nov 04, 2016 Justin Evans rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I've read Nabokov saying this is the most perfect novel of the nineteenth century. I've also read Nabokov saying that Turgenev just moves his characters around so they can have conversations that he, Turgenev, finds interesting. I find the latter characterisation more accurate; reading it this time round I thought the plot was creaky and stagey. That said, well worth reading for those interesting conversations, and for the Russianness of it all.

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Sep 03, 2016 Calzean rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: culture-russia, classics, author-russian

I enjoyed this book - still readable after all these years. Turgenev covers Russia in the mid 19th century. The characters vary from the conservative fathers to their sons who are embracing a world of liberalism and rebellion. There are poignant reminders that every generation is different so get over it. There is also the simmering tensions of the serfs who are starting to seek independence.

Bazarov, is the anti-hero. He is a nihilist but likes botany and science. He finds himself in love - some ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

title link	preview: Fathers and Sons
avg rating	preview: Fathers and Sons Goodreads rating: 3.94 (48792 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19117.Fathers_and_Sons?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390793535l/19117.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19117.Fathers_and_Sons?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev[/url]

See a Problem?

Preview — Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

Fathers and Sons

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Popular Answered Questions

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

About Ivan Turgenev

Books by Ivan Turgenev

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About Fedre og sønner

Quotes from Fathers and Sons

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Readers Revie...: Father and Sons - Chapter 24 to Conclusion	11	30	May 16, 2016 09:45AM
The Readers Revie...: Father and Sons - Chapter 18 to 23	31	31	May 11, 2016 07:55AM