Fathers and Sons

Rating:
Summary: What?
Review: Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev, who lived through 1818-83, is thought to be one of the finest Russian writers. He studied in Moscow, St Petersburg and Berlin, then became a strong advocate of Russia's westernization. Here we see his masterpiece "Fathers and Sons" which I personally came across through the recommendation of a close friend.

Turgenev is a master of engaging the reader through the complexities of his characters. While you may initially feel contempt for some them, the more you learn of their contrasting personalities, you will eventually love them all in the end. If not for their beliefs and actions story-wise, then for how deep and well thought-out their various histories are. You may find yourself endlessly devouring page after page, wanting to know more about these fascinating people he's created.

For me, reading this book was like opening my eyes to a world I long neglected. In the next few days, I will no doubt find myself hunting down more of his works. In "Fathers and Sons" he focuses on every character's humanity and principles, then lets it all play out with such craft and unmistakable skill. From their conflicts and influences with each other, every character develops and yet remains the same.

Every scene he creates, is depicted vividly, with descriptions of subtle details in the backgrounds bringing his world to life. From the effortless way he lets the reader see his visions, we can easily grasp the character of his creations, their moods, their thoughts, and how we can relate to their emotions. It is certainly a crime for someone who's even remotely interested in novels not to read this book. And for those who aren't, they shouldn't neglect reading this either, they might just find something they will love.

Rating:
Summary: Of Family, Love, and Nihilism
Review: This book is known mostly, perhaps, for the character of Bazarov, widely considered the vanguard of nihilism in literature, especially in Russia. Bazarov is a significant fact of fiction, a sketch of the young middle class intellegentsia developing in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Brash, self-confident, iconoclastic, educated young men like Bazarov were popping up all over Russia. Turgenev finds a way to tie this into a rich tapestry of love, familial relationships, and simplicity that Arkady and Bazarov, the young men, succumb to. Even in his determination to change the world by destroying it so it can be rebuilt, Bazarov does not overcome the strong bonds of family. Love and family has the sort of redemptive power found so often in War and Peace, and indeed, Turgenev writes from a similar perspective and on a similar wavelength as Tolstoy. This book, while not big on plot, is to be appreciated for blending its simple prose with a poetic passion in showing how love between fathers and sons is ageless, and love between men and women occurs. I found the last passage very moving.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating look at Russian nihilism
Review: This book is an interesting look at Russia in a time of change. Nihilism was gaining favor, the serfs had been emancipated, and the old way of life had begun to die. In this work, Turgenev explores the nature of the conflict between old, traditional values of class and custom and the new way of thinking. The title, Fathers and Sons, is aptly named, for this novel examines the gap between two generations' way of thinking. On the one side, the sons represent a new way of thinking called nihilism. Bazarov, the main character in the nihilist camp, represents the new generation of thinkers, those who accept nothing on authority and question everything. He influences a young man named Arkady, who becomes a sort of disciple of his. On the other side, Nikolai and Pavel, Arkady's father and uncle, respectively, represent "Old Russia." Nikolai is a landowner and, though he has emancipated his peasants and tries to be progressive, is stuck in the past. Pavel is the extreme traditionalist, representing everything that Russia was at the turn of the nineteenth century.

Turgenev uses these characters to explore the strengths and weaknesses of each way of thinking. The book seems to make the statement that the old way of life is inadequate and needs to be replaced, though he does not provide a solution. At any rate, Turgenev does not seem confident that nihilism can provide the necessary change. In the end, Arkady drifts away from Bazarov's influence, and becomes a sort of compromise between Bazarov's way of thinking and Nikolai's, and in this there is, it seems, at least a partial solution. Though he does not propose to solve the problems he points out in this novel, Turgenev sheds some interesting light on the subject of nihilism vs. traditionalism at a time of social upheaval in Russia.

Rating:
Summary: Social Awareness
Review: The one factor that keeps being brought up in other reviews is the apparent lack of plot. A key point is not being brought in; the nature of Russian literature is to create a socially conscious society. While American and European authors can enter whatever realms they choose and write vivid, thrilling stories, Russian novelists enter a more subdued state. Their concern is not whether their readers are on the edge of their seats in suspense, their concern is that society be made aware of the changes and problems that are arising.

'Fathers and Sons' achieves that very well, pitting old Muscovite traditions against the new Western ideas. It's not a page turner, because it isn't supposed to be.

I thought it was a brilliant piece. Turgenev outlines quite clearly using only a handful of characters just how opposed the two sides of Russia are. And in the end, he makes very clear that one will have to give. The story is made better because Turgenev shows no favoritism. He carries out his job as an author to the letter: to present the problem, without offering the solution. That is for the reader to decide.

And as the book draws to a close, the reader is left wondering, 'Which direction is better?'

Rating:
Summary: A Plotless Classic
Review: This was required reading for my Russian literature class because it is considered a classic. My favorite part of this book is the fact that it gives the reader a glimpse of what life was like for the average nobleman of the day...(in the 1850's) It has some interesting descriptions of Russian family life, the life of the peasantry and how the younger generation interacted with the older generation (hence the title, "Fathers and Sons" although the original Russian is called "Fathers and Children"). One of the main characters, Bazarov, is a self proclaimed nihilist who rejects all forms of authority, causing problems for the older generations (his parents & his friend's parents), but attracting the attention of the people of his (the younger) generation. This book has no real plot...it is merely the story of how one man brings his nihilist ideas into other peoples' lives & it gives accounts of everybody else's reactions to these nihilist ideas. It is an interesting book & a pretty quick read, but it can drag in places...especially if the reader is waiting for something interesting to happen. All in all, I believe this book is worth reading, if just to get a taste of "Old Russia", but if you are looking for an exciting "can't-put-it-down-sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat-page-turner", you won't find it in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Great political treatise, lousy literature
Review: Bless him for keeping this one short, unlike his contemporaries in Russian literature. Unfortunately, the fact that this book is 200 pages is the best thing I can say about it. This is so clearly the case of an author who had a political statement to make and decided, unwisely, to couch it in a fictional as opposed to non-fictional format. This would have made for a great political or sociological treatise, but it is not good literature. The characters and plot are so obviously secondary to the message. The characters are one-dimensional, predictable, and transparent. The plot is forgettable and really almost seems to have been an afterthought. The only real merit of this book is that it captures the birth of an important social and political movement, at a very pivotal time in Russian history.

Rating:
Summary: Imaginatively dynamic and intellectual reading
Review: Of what I call the "Russian Inklings" Turgenev is by far the most accessible, this book being the apogee of his career, much like B&K with Dostoyevsky, and W&P with Tolstoy.

Fathers and Sons not only is a shorter read than the two masterpieces mentioned above, it is subsequently faster paced and less of a cerebral and psychological labyrinth.

There seems to be two protagonists, something that Russian writers did fairly often in contrast to western literature which usually has only one hero, or protagonist. Turgenev's usage of two protagonists conveys two invaluable view to every circumstance, character, and event that transpires in this books 350 pages.

The novel takes place during the "scientific enlightenment," of Russia where romanticism currently, or perhaps already has been dethroned by the resident naturalistic sciences and breeds secular agnosticism, or Deductionary Atheism.

**The book was received hilariously by critics. Many radical naturalistic atheists both loved and hated it. The critics that loved the book (in the late 1880's) were enamored with Turgenevs scientific objectivity, and humored pokes at both radical romanticism and radical nihilism. The critics who despised the book felt that their intellectual camp had been fraudulated, and required reconciliation.

**I want to point out that many themes spoken of by these Russian authors, and explicitly Turgenev, are issues that are still at the forefront of political and philosophical debate. Nihilism is really the anthem of Hume's deductionary logical philosophy of indeterminism. It is the purest form of naturalistic sciences and often times is confused with empiricism. I wish to point out that governmental forms like socialism, that wish to divide any personal belief with public display, (similar to Socialist France) are displaying the very same traits and political referendums fought for by the youth in this book.

**The youth of today, I would say as a majority (and being one of them), are not sympathetic towards selfish conservatism, which is represented in this book by Arkady's uncle, (Arkady being the Romantic protagonist). The emotional turmoil and intellectual struggle that the characters go through in the throngs of political debate are incredible.

***MOST IMPORTANTLY: *** Bazarov (the 2nd of the two protagonists) represents the theoretical Jesus of nihilism. Turgenev constructs him faithfully and without bias, and allows the man to live and breathe and think so perfectly throughout the enirity of the work. For that reason alone the book is worth reading.

**Bazarov may be my favorite character in any novel, only short of Alyosha in B.K. I say this because Bazarov represents the secular humanist who is self gratified in his scientific altruism, but (not to spoil anything) rounds with an ironic existence.

Five stars, awesome, objective russian literature, that like most, is dynamically applicable to the modern political melting pot.

Rating:
Summary: "Revolting" Stuff
Review: This is an eminently readable book - really a novella at only a couple of hundred pages. Arkady, a student, brings his nihilistic friend Bazarov home to meet his father and uncle. The latter, Pavel Petrovich, is an embittered traditionalist who becomes the natural butt of Bazarov's disrespectfulness and intellectual superiority. A medical student, Bazarov's politics are revolutionary but his main way of putting himself across to his elders is merely to yawn discontentedly. Petrovich abhors and fears the potential consequences of Bazarov's sceptism for people, institutions, ideas, all the marks of "civilisation".

Nihilism, which spawned the Russian revolution, was an intellectual movement in Russia in the mid-nineteenth century. It supported the end of serfdom for the workers on estates. Its growth and influence, plus its effect on people of all shades of belief, has recently been brilliantly dramatised, with Turgenev himself as a character, in a trilogy of plays by Tom Stoppard (who wrote the screenplay of _Shakespeare in Love_): _The Coast of Utopia_ ,well worth seeing and reading.

Turgenev's novel, drawn from his own contacts and experiences, was profoundly disturbing in its day and still rings uncomfortably true. Apart from the politics, the characterisation is adept and the descriptions, though scarce, poetic. Lack of a plot is not serious here; I found the book to be a real page-turner because the ideological conflicts drive it.

Rating:
Summary: Timeless
Review: A classic piece of literature is defined by its ability to transcend time. _Fathers and Sons_ is one such book. It is the story of a son, returning from college with a fellow student, and his father. It is also about the generation gap that exists within the family, the dynacmic of college friends, the marvelous magic of youth, and the strength of familial ties.

I first read this in college, but, like good wine, the story has imporved with age. As I have gained experience and wisdom with years, so has my appreciation of the brilliance and wisdom of Turgenev's observations. All too often we think of ourselves as the first to see or experience things - from love, to ideas, to the exuberance and idealism that being young is all about. Turgenev shows us the folly in that line of thinking. And in so doing, gives us a glimpse of the universality of what it is to be human. _Fathers and Sons_ ranks as one of my favorite books for this reason. After a reading, I am sure you will agree.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent & Well-Written Yet Flawed
Review: "Fathers and Sons" might be Turgenev's most referred to piece of work. And it is an intelligent and well-written piece of literature, but there were a few things about the book I didn't like. Now naturally who am I to criticize the work of Turgenev. To me one of the greatest Russian authors.

Before I read this book I thought it was about the generation gap between a father and son. Demonstrating the changes which evolve generation after generation. How the young challenge the social conventions of the times. And that is a theme that is played in the book. But, here's comes one of the faults I have with the book. While reading the beginning pages I began to notice who the book starts to revolve around. Mostly the characters Bazarov and Arkady. And the older characters namely Arkady's father Nikolai and his uncle Pavel are not used enough. And this creates a conflict. Throughout the book we read about the younger generations view of life. But we don't get to read about the older characters views enough. There can't be much of a conflict if we don't get to hear both sides. We mostly hear Bazarov's views but he is rarely "challenged" to defend them. One of the best chapters in the book has Bazarov and Arkady arguing with Nikolai and Pavel about where society is now and where it was.

Another problem I had with the book deals with the characters Anna Sergeyevna and her sister Katya. At first both Bazarov and Arkady are both taken by Anna. But we come to know very little about her. We only see her through the eyes of both men. And since they are both in love with her it seems a very lovely portrait is made of her. But, is she really the person they both think she is? We are not given a strong back ground story about her past. The only thing concerning her past that is mentioned is her first marriage. Some detail is given about her father but nothing about her childhood. The same thing happens with Katya. And never once does Turgenev try to put us in both of these women shoes to see what they think of the men. That would of been interesting to know.

And finally I didn't like the way the book ends. By telling us exactly what happens to each character. I thought it was too neat. He was trying too hard to carefully wrap everything up with a bow on top. I would of preferred some mystery. It gives the reader something to think about.

I suppose many might feel I'm nit-picking. But, if it does seem that way it's only because over-all I did enjoy the book and became involved so naturally I would of liked to know more about some of the characters. And naturally I would of liked to read more about other characters.

Turgenev does give the novel a certin poetic feel. Many chapters are touching and heartfelt. I enjoyed the chapter where Nikolai thinks about his first wife. It is so vividly described. It's full of emotion. Another chapter deals with Bazarov visiting his parents and then suddenly leaving. The parents are heartbroken and so are we.

Though for all the touching moments in the book there was one chapter I found quite funny. It deals with Pavel challenging Bazarov to a duel. Pavel informs Bazarov that he "detest" him. They then start to discuss the formalities. Pavel suggest that they fight at six in the morning with pistols at a distance of ten paces. Bazarov says "At ten paces? That will do; we can detest one another at that distance." Later Bazarov starts to get a bit nervous and declares "I risk having my brains blown out." I could almost picture Woody Allen saying these lines with his stammer. It reminded me of his movie "Love and Death".

"Fathers and Sons" is an enjoyable read. It has it's rewarding moments. And I do recommend it to all Turgenev fans and those who love Russian literature. Though I admit I do perfer his novel "First Love" and his play "A Month In The Country".
*** 1\2 out of *****

Bottom-line: Poetic well-written piece of work by Turgenev. Has many touching moments are does create a nice mood throughout. Flawed but interesting.