Showing results for "Ivan A Turgenev" in All Categories

When Arkady Petrovich comes home from college, his father finds his eager, naive son changed almost beyond recognition, for the impressionable Arkady has fallen under the powerful influence of the friend he has brought with him. A self-proclaimed nihilist, the ardent young Bazarov shocks Arkady's father by criticising the landowning way of life and by his outspoken determination to sweep away the traditional values of contemporary Russian society.

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818-1883) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, and popularizer of Russian literature in the West. Fathers and Sons (1862), one of the most acclaimed Russian novels of the 19th century, deals with the growing cultural divide between two generations or mindsets of Russians. Both the nihilists (the "sons") and the 1830s liberals (the "fathers") sought Western-style social change. "Mumu" (1854) is the story of Gerasim, a deaf-mute serf whose life of poverty is thrown into stark relief by his rescue of the dog Mumu.

Nine classic works by the Russian literary giant, adapted for BBC Radio Ivan Turgenev stands alongside Tolstoy and Dostoevsky as one of the three great Russian novelists of the 19th century. He was also a consummate short story writer, poet and playwright, and the first Russian author to become...

When young Russian aristocrat Dimitri Sanin, on his way home from Italy, enters a patisserie in Frankfurt, he little dreams it will alter the course of his entire life. Faced with Gemma, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen, he is blown away by the spring torrents of love. But fate has a challenge in store for Sanin, one he must successfully overcome or else he will lose his chance of future happiness.

At the end of a dinner party, the remaining guests drink wine and tell stories of their first love. For one of them, it will be a dark journey into his past, reawakening unbearable memories of his obsession with the beautiful Zinaida.

The title of the novella serves as a poignant reminder of the universal boy-meets-girl-then-loses-her narrative. While this theme may seem familiar, Turgenev infuses it with originality and depth. The story is marked by a surprise ending that, while not entirely unexpected, resonates deeply. Turgenevs skill lies in his ability to create powerful turning points—akin to Joyces epiphanies—that irrevocably alter the characters lives, leading to a tragic conclusion. Nature symbolism is beautifully woven throughout, elevated by exquisite poetic similes, such as the striking image of a speckled ...

In Turgenevs last and most expansive novel, we journey into late nineteenth-century Russia, where a group of disillusioned young individuals challenge the rigid social hierarchies and power dynamics of their time. Driven by a fervent desire to inspire revolutionary change among the peasant and working classes, they rally around a Populist cause. This compelling narrative weaves together a rich tapestry of characters—from aristocrats to artists, from workers to dreamers—unveiling the raw emotions and conflicts that arise as they navigate their ideals and realities. This first volume ...

In the gripping second volume of Turgenevs final novel, the tides of social change clash with the entrenched order, leading to intense conflicts that test the characters resolve and motivations like never before. This recording covers Chapters 21-38, continuing the journey from the first volume, which encompasses the first half of the book. Join us as we delve deeper into the lives and struggles of these compelling figures.

When Arkady Petrovich comes home from college, his father finds his eager, naïve son changed almost beyond recognition, for the impressionable Arkady has fallen under the powerful influence of the friend he has brought with him. A self-proclaimed nihilist, the ardent young Bazarov shocks Arkady's father by criticizing the landowning way of life and by his outspoken determination to sweep away traditional values of contemporary Russian society.

Russian literature exudes an atmosphere of mysticism, which is said to be a natural result of the simplicity of her people. Often, instead of being "about" anything, Russian stories sometimes seem to be the "thing" in itself. Be this as it may, it is an undeniable fact that with hardly any portent of future greatness to come, Russian literature suddenly sprang fully developed into existence in the 19th century.

Arkady Kirsanov is due to move back home after attending university, much to his father’s delight. He also brings with him a close friend, Eugene Barazov, who Arkady’s father warmly receives. But before long, tensions begin to rise in the household: Arkady and Eugene’s philosophies – promoting concepts such as nihilism – are beginning to make Arkady’s father uneasy. Their views are too radical – and they reject the traditional Russian life Arkady’s father so carefully created for himself and the family.

An intriguing confession of doctor’s romantic involvement with a beautiful, 20-year-old patient. Followed by Turgenev’s exquisite, often meditative descriptions of the Russian countryside and mysterious herbalist Kassyan, infatuated with Gamayane, a prophetic bird of Russian folklore, a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. Read in English.

Set against the backdrop of the 1850s, On the Eve emerges in 1860, just two years prior to Turgenevs renowned novel Fathers and Sons. The story follows the young Elena Nikolaevna Stakhov, daughter of the distracted Nikolai Arteyemvitch and Anna Vassilyevna Stakhov, as she navigates the complexities of her relationships. Misunderstood by her parents—who are more concerned with their own intrigues than Elenas well-being—she finds solace in the company of the aspiring professor Andrei Petrovitch Bersenyev and the ambitious sculptor Pavel Yakovitch Shubin, both of whom may harbor feelings for ...

Join the journey of Turgenevs enigmatic hero, Tchulkaturin, who embodies the quintessential Russian archetype, the superfluous man. This character is no prince, but a man of comfort living a monotonous life, aimlessly led by circumstances that threaten to consume him. This novella is structured as a diary, which Tchulkaturin begins writing after a terminal illness diagnosis. His entries, spanning a mere two weeks, encapsulate the countdown to his inevitable end. In these pages, Tchulkaturin rehashes the one meaningful event of his life - a one-sided love affair leading to a non-fatal duel that...

One of the most controversial Russian novels ever written, Fathers and Sons dramatizes the volcanic social conflicts that divided Russia just before the revolution, pitting peasants against masters, traditionalists against intellectuals, and fathers against sons. It is also a timeless depiction of the ongoing clash between generations.

Set in Baden-Baden, Smoke is Ivan Turgenev's most cosmopolitan novel. First published in 1867, it is an exquisite study of politics and society and an enduringly poignant love story. Smoke, with its European setting, barbed wit, and visionary call for Russia to look west, became the center of a famous philosophical breach between Turgenev and Dostoevsky.

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818-1883) was a Russian author, translator, and popularizer of Russian literature in the West. "Mumu" is about Gerasim, a deaf-mute serf whose life of poverty is brought into sharp relief by his love for a dog he rescues from drowning. His wealthy old mistress sees the dog Mumu and wants it but Mumu bares her teeth at her, and tragedy follows.

First Love by Ivan Turgenev. The title of the novella is almost an adequate summary in itself. The "boy-meets-girl-then-loses-her" story is universal but not, I think, banal - despite a surprise ending which notoriously turns out to be very little of a surprise. First Love is given its originality and poignancy by Turgenev's mastery of the piercing turning-point (akin to Joyce's "epiphanies") that transforms the character's whole being, making a tragic outcome inevitable. Even the nature symbolism is rescued from triteness by lovely poetic similes - e.g. "but at that point my attention was ...

Ivan Turgenev's Ghosts is a rare venture into the supernatural for this writer, and all the more precious for it. The story has all the beauty of Turgenev's language, all the power of his description, and the decidedly chilling feel of a true ghost story.

Turgenev wrote Fathers and Sons as a response to the growing cultural schism between liberals of the 1830s-1840s and the growing nihilist movement. Both the nihilists (the "sons") and the 1830s liberals (the "fathers") sought Western-based social change in Russia. These two modes of thought were contrasted with the Slavophiles, who believed that Russia's path lay in its traditional spirituality. Fathers and Sons, which might be considered as the first really modern novel in Russian literature, enraged everyone when it was published.