Fathers and Sons (Warbler Classics Annotated Edition) - Turgenev, Ivan

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Résumé :
Fathers and Sons is a major work of nineteenth-century fiction and one of the most acclaimed Russian novels of all time. The story follows the relationships between a father, his sons Pavel and Arkady, and Arkady's nihilist friend Bazarov. Against the backdrop of a growing cultural schism between old and new ideas and generational conflict, the drama around family ties, love, heartache, and religion plays out in this insightful, compassionate, and exhilerating tale. This edition includes a brilliant essay by Henry James on Ivan Turgenev and a detailed biographical timeline....

Biographie:
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818 - 1883) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, translator and popularizer of Russian literature in the West. His first major publication, a short story collection entitled A Sportsman's Sketches (1852), was a milestone of Russian realism and his novel Fathers and Sons (1862) is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century fiction. Turgenev's artistic purity made him a favorite of like-minded novelists of the next generation, such as Henry James and Joseph Conrad, both of whom greatly preferred Turgenev to Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. James, who wrote no fewer than five critical essays on Turgenev's work, claimed that his merit of form is of the first order (1873) and praised his exquisite delicacy, which makes too many of his rivals appear to hold us, in comparison, by violent means and introduce us, in comparison, to vulgar things (1896). Vladimir Nabokov, notorious for his casual dismissal of many great writers, praised Turgenev's plastic musical flowing prose, but criticized his labored epilogues and banal handling of plots. Nabokov stated that Turgenev is not a great writer, though a pleasant one and ranked him fourth among nineteenth-century Russian prose writers, behind Tolstoy, Gogol and Anton Chekhov, but ahead of Dostoyevsky. His idealistic ideas about love, specifically the devotion a wife should show her husband, were cynically referred to by characters in Chekhov's An Anonymous Story.

Sommaire:
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev was born in 1818 into a noble Russian family and grew up on their estate, Spasskoye-Lutovinovo. He studied literature and philosophy at Moscow and Saint Petersburg universities before continuing his education in Berlin. His exposure to Western European ideas deeply influenced his views on Russian society and reform.Turgenev gained recognition with A Sportsman's Sketches (1852), which criticized serfdom and fueled discussions on its abolition. His novel Fathers and Sons (1862) introduced the nihilist Bazarov, sparking intense debate about generational conflict and ideological change. Though controversial, his works played a key role in shaping Russian literary and social thought.Spending much of his life in France and Germany, Turgenev formed lasting friendships with writers like Gustave Flaubert. His love for opera singer Pauline Viardot influenced his travels and personal life. He died in 1883 in Bougival, France, leaving behind a literary legacy of social critique and psychological depth....