|
Editorial Review Product Description
When Fathers and Sons was first published in Russia, in 1862, it was met with a blaze of controversy about where Turgenev stood in relation to his account of generational misunderstanding. Was he criticizing the worldview of the conservative aesthete, Pavel Kirsanov, and the older generation, or that of the radical, cerebral medical student, Evgenii Bazarov, representing the younger one? The critic Dmitrii Pisarev wrote at the time that the novel "stirs the mind . . . because everything is permeated with the most complete and most touching sincerity." N. N. Strakhov, a close friend of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, praised its "profound vitality." It is this profound vitality in Turgenev's characters that carry his novel of ideas to its rightful place as a work of art and as one of the classics of Russian Literature. ... Read more Customer Reviews (47) 
A hero for his time
Turgenev's novels express a continual desire to find a new model for the Russian male, a hero for the time - idealistic and progressive, but also practical, his nature and strength still rooted in the very land itself.While some of these characteristics are evident in the heroes of Nest of the Gentry, On The Eve and Rudin, there's still something lacking, the Russian men still ruled by their hearts more than their minds, unable to break from the shackles of old society, old tradition and old ways of thinking.
In Fathers and Sons (1862), Turgenev creates a character, a Nihilist, to overthrow these old values.Into Bazarov, Turgenev pours all the qualities that he believes the Russian man should have - stout-hearted, educated, intelligent, decent and self-sacrificing, yet ruthlessly contemptuous of old ways.He is no respecter of the "sacred tradition", the aristocracy, or indeed the lower classes, who still cling to the securities they knew under the old feudal system.Ironically, the nihilistic, revolutionary character of Bazarov would find favour with neither the old establishment nor the new regime, making life in Russia difficult for Turgenev (who had already been imprisoned for his support of Gogol), and later see him going into exile.
Fathers and Sons however goes beyond the historical importance of the work, touching on sentiments in the father/son relationship that are still relevant today - the need to break with the past and overturn old ideals, and the sadness of the wedge that this places between parent and child, but the necessity of doing so in order to find a new and better expression in the evolving modern world.In many ways however, the world in Fathers and Sons still resembles that of Rudin, with the same kind of characters, landowners and aristocrats on country estates, with the same social divisions, having the same fruitless discussions about art, family and society - even if it is to condemn them here - while forming romantic attachments.
Fathers and Sons however is certainly a much better constructed and balanced novel than Rudin, the characters actively pursuing revolution rather than merely talking about it, although perhaps because of their very nature, they still fail to make a significant impression on society.Turgenev's model of Bazarov as a character for the future of the new Russia therefore doesn't entirely succeed and there is still some romanticism both in the character and Turgenev's depiction of him.It would take better writers like Tolstoy and Chekhov to delve deeper into the Russian character - and human nature - and bring it out in all its complexities and contradictions.Bazarov then is very much a hero for his time, and Fathers and Sons, although perhaps Turgenev's best novel with much to admire in it, is also very much of its time, while Tolstoy and Chekhov are eternal.
A Timely Read (At Least for Me)
As a college-bound 17 year old, I'm so glad to have read Fathers and Sons. Arkady's dilemma is one to which I can strongly relate, as my own value system somewhat conflicts with those of my parents. I highly recommend this deeply moving novel to anyone, especially ideologically rebellious teenagers.
Too soon to tell.Im only 1/4 the way through
The father and son are finely drawn and with a certain romantic sensitivity.The nihilist friend seems exaggerated but maybe he will become more rounded as I read on.
Sublime Masterpiece
Though not Russian fiction's father in Nikolai Gogol's sense of adapting the language and producing its first notable fictional works, Ivan Turgenev is the direct antecedent of the psychological characterization and philosophical dramatization that is most closely associated with it and thus arguably its true father. Fathers and Sons, his most famous work and masterpiece, was the first Russian novel to attract Western praise, particularly winning over Henry James, who hailed it as a masterwork and championed Turgenev over the Russian writers who soon overshadowed him. One can debate Turgenev's merits relative to giants like Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy, but he certainly provides an interesting contrast, and Fathers and Sons has long had an indisputable place alongside their great works in the world canon.
The book is of course most famous for Evgeny Vasilevich Bazarov, its protagonist, who is both painstakingly realistic and thoroughly symbolic. He typifies the young, European-influenced, middle-class liberal that Turgenev rightly thought was a rising Russian power. A self-proclaimed nihilist, he rejects religion, conventional morality, and nearly every other traditional Russian virtue. He claims to believe in nothing but has a great passion for science and seems to believe in a sort of self-reliance. Though influenced by archetypes like Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, he was an essentially original creation - Turgenev's most memorable and famous character. Anyone at all familiar with Russian literature can immediately see that he became a prototype, his most famous manifestation being Raskolnikov in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment a few years later. However, he is interesting enough in his own right, and his ambivalent depiction is fascinating. Though he is ostensibly a cautionary figure, a negative example, Turgenev was open-minded enough not to condemn him outright. His dark end is indeed a warning that pure nihilism is a dead end, but Turgenev at times seems as enthralled by Bazarov as anyone. This ambiguity was the main reason that the novel got very mixed reviews; it satisfied neither those who sympathized with Bazarov nor those who condemned him. Turgenev was stung and wrote less prolifically and enthusiastically from then on, but time has shown that the uncertain portrayal is exactly the book's greatest strength. Bazarov represents a path that Russia could have taken - or, if you will, one pole of human nature -, though admittedly an extreme one, and cannot be lauded or condemned outright. Turgenev was brave enough to give an honest portrayal, and the profoundly believable and insightful psychological portrait retains its power. Bazarov is one of the most interesting characters in a century full of great ones. He is hard to fully love or hate; he certainly has many despicable qualities, but only Pollyannas can deny some of his points, and the force with which he argues, in combination with his cynical apathy, has a certain perverse charm. We can debate him and what he stands for ad nauseum, but it is unlikely that anyone who reads the book will soon forget him.
There is of course far more to the novel, not least its vivid dramatization of the title's implied generation gap. Turgenev saw an ever-widening chasm between the liberals of his generation and the Bazarovs, dramatizing it with striking verisimilitude and stunning philosophical and psychological depth. His generation is represented by the brothers Nikolai and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov. They have also embraced Europeanization but in ways that Bazarov finds contemptibly superficial:speaking French, wearing foreign clothes, etc. More fundamental is their continued clinging to traditional morality and institutions. Their interactions with Bazarov make clear that, religion and morality aside, the generation gap was to a great extent a class issue. The Kirsanovs are aristocrats, and Pavel Petrovich in particular resents the upstart Bazarov. Their clash soon culminates in a highly symbolic duel suggesting, especially in its aftermath, that while the Bazarovs may initially gain the upper hand, there is much to be said for the older generation, which should not be written off so quickly. Nikolai Petrovich is more moderate, abandoning tradition to the extent of taking a lower-class woman as a mistress and even having a child with her, yet aware enough to constantly worry about offending his brother. He can sympathize with Bazarov and is even willing to listen to his ideas but above all simply wants harmony. His son Arkady is at yet another place on the spectrum, respecting the elders but so naïve and joyous in his youthfulness that he becomes a Bazarov disciple almost without knowing.
These conflicts play out in various ways but primarily through Arkady, the only character who really changes. It can be assumed that he was squarely in familial tradition before college, where he nearly became a Bazarov clone, and he finally takes solace in love's redemptive power. There is no doubt that Turgenev thinks this last the right path - that we are supposed to think, as Arkady finally does, that Bazarovism leads only to wasteful self-destructiveness, making true happiness impossible and keeping us from doing the world any good. Some will of course disagree, but Arkady's progression is very plausibly written; it is hard not to sympathize and be glad for his eventual peace and bliss. The novel is thus among other things an excellent bildungsroman.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the book is how Turgenev dramatizes all this - and even makes his point clear - without heavy-handedness. Novels tackling such weighty issues often let didacticism overwhelm story, but Fathers and Sons is never guilty of this nearly always fatal sin. He is also a master stylist; his often lyrical prose encompasses not only dense philosophical speculation but also much sublime beauty. The last paragraph in particular is unforgettable in its precise beauty and profoundly moving sentiment - so well-written that even those who cynically disagree with the conclusion, and thus the book's overall message, cannot deny its immense power. Most notable of all is that Turgenev manages to do all this in under 250 pages. This is the greatest difference between him and the more famous Russian masters known for their thick tomes. Turgenev eschews their great attention to detail, lengthy dialogue, and long philosophical asides. Those who, like James, detested such "loose, baggy monsters" may join him in preferring Turgenev, and the differences are substantial enough that even those who dislike Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and their ilk should not pass over Turgenev automatically on account of it. That said, he shares enough of their great elements - indeed, inspired many of them - that their fans should check him out. His remarkable conciseness is certainly less intimidating, and there are many benefits to reading the Russian greats chronologically. In short, the appeal of Fathers and Sons is so great and diverse that the book is a must for practically anyone who appreciates great literature.
Timeless Theme
Turgenev's Fathers and Sons is a rare classic novel that combines a story set in an era of social and political change in feudal Russia with a theme regarding generational conflict that has a timeless relevance to any age. His characters capture the tensions of youth filled with passion over new ideas clashing with the established ways of their elders.It is classically Russian in that the flow of the novel is driven by dialogue between the various characters rather than significant action on their part, although there is a romantic element to the story that fits perfectly as a subplot echoing the family tensions between the 2 young men and their fathers.
Bazarov , whose introduction into the home of his friend Arcady sets the story in motion,is a self-proclaimed nihilist and his idealism and passion are the straw that stirs the drink of much that follows. Some of Turgenev's characters are reluctant to face the obvious changes taking place in their society and the resulting gap between modern and traditional beliefs and ways of life underly much of what drives these characters to act in the way they do.
Fathers and Sons is a relatively easy book to read and enjoy when compared with the more challenging works of other Russian novelists but it is as extremely rewarding as it is accessible. I found it to be memorable, enriching and a good investment of time.
... Read more |
