Fathers and Sons (Modern Library) Book

A 'classic' classic. Written in 1862, Wikipedia suggest this can be considered the "first modern Russian novel." The plot revolves around two sons and two fathers who are meant to show political change in Russia reflecting generational differences. We are told in the introduction that the author deliberately set the time frame of the novel in 1859, shortly before the emancipation of the serfs in 1861.



The fathers of course are old school, traditional Slavophiles, even though they have both recently adopted some changes that give their serfs some more liberties, such as making some of them wage laborers. It's not enough for the two sons who are radicals at that time - essentially nihilists. This novel introduced the term nihilism into modern culture. The two sons are schoolmates at university and they believe in nothing of the established order - family, religion, customs, any established authority. Everything has to prove itself anew. They want to see Russia westernized.



The older of the two young men is more experienced and world-wise than the younger. The older is really the one espousing radicalism; the younger idolizes him and agrees with everything he says. Both fathers have the same reactions to their sons: they are shocked but not argumentative. They defer to their sons' level of learning and are awed by them. They expect great things of them, and given the choice of lead, follow, or get out of the way, they choose the last.

The older of the two young men, named Bazaov, is portrayed as egotistical and arrogant. Although Turgenev had relatively liberal views, this book was attacked by both sides. Reactionaries felt he favored these radical nihilist views for daring to argue them through Bazarov's mouth. Liberals felt he was making fun of their views by having then expressed by a jerk.

There's romance as both men, on a visit to a neighboring estate, start to fall in love with a young widow. The younger turns his attention to her younger sister; the older man falls hard. One of the fathers is embarrassed by having a young female serf as his mistress, although the son has no problem with that relationship. The plot is as much a love story(ies) as it is a political novel and at times becomes a bit like a soap-opera, but we recognize that literary styles have changed since 1860! We are also given a 3-page "Where are they now" wrap-up that you would not find in a modern novel.



I enjoyed the book. Not stellar, but a worthwhile read.

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Russian women pulling a barge from johnknifton.files.wordpress.com
The author from lareviewofbooks.org