Turgenev, Ivan "Fathers and Sons"

Turgenev, Ivan "Fathers and Sons" (Russian: Отцы и дети/Otzy i deti) - 1862

I love Russian authors, as all my friends know. But I had never read a book by Turgenjew. So, I was happy that # 2 was chosen for our classic spin this term.

Was it as good as most of the other Russian authors I read? Yes, it was. I loved reading about life in Russia in the middle of the nineteenth century, when times started to change, farmers got more freedom, serfdom started to be abolished and the whole order of society was questioned.

Almost any kind of character was described in this book, diffferent ages, different social status, different education, different housholds, town and countryside, students and farmers, parents and children, women and men (which doesn't happen often in those books).

According to Wikipedia, this is considered the first modern Russian novel. I can well believe that. Changes were coming and the author managed to put that situation to paper.

In any case, I can highly recommend this book. And not just to those who love classics and/or Russian literature.

From the back cover:

"Bazarov—a gifted, impatient, and caustic young man—has journeyed from school to the home of his friend Arkady Kirsanov. But soon Bazarov’s outspoken rejection of authority and social conventions touches off quarrels, misunderstandings, and romantic entanglements that will utterly transform the Kirsanov household and reflect the changes taking place across all of nineteenth-century Russia.

Fathers and Sons enraged the old and the young, reactionaries, romantics, and radicals alike when it was first published. At the same time, Turgenev won the acclaim of Flaubert, Maupassant, and Henry James for his craftsmanship as a writer and his psychological insight. Fathers and Sons is now considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century.

A timeless depiction of generational conflict during social upheaval, it vividly portrays the clash between the older Russian aristocracy and the youthful radicalism that foreshadowed the revolution to come—and offers modern-day readers much to reflect upon as they look around at their own tumultuous, ever changing world."

Here are all the books on my original Classics Club list.
And here is a list of all the books I read with the Classics Spin.