Never Before Read

One of my favorite classes this semester is 'Introduction to Russian History: 1861 to the Present'. It's a fascinating time in history, and also a very complex period in which a society did a total reversal, going from backwards to very industrialized and a world power. One important thing to understand about this time period is that literature has always been central to Russian history. The names Tolstoy, Pushkin and Dostoevsky are tossed around in that class constantly, each one getting more class time than all the novels combined in a standard American history class. Because of that, we had to read Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev.

This book is about the lives of the Russian people shortly before the emancipation of serfs. The emancipation began in 1861 and this book was published in 1862 so everyone was very familiar with the ideals and struggles Turgenev narrates. The main focus is on the clash of generations, thus the title, and shows how Russia changed each generation and how each dealt with the previous generations foibles. Turgenev did not approach this novel as a way to give voice to his own ideas about what should happen next but instead to pose the question to the public at large. Every class and group of philosophical, religious and academic thought is mentioned. They are praised and critiqued in due time and each are fair game. Because of this, it stirred up quite a bit of conflict and debate and does to this day.

Before Fathers and Sons, I had never read a book by Ivan Turgenev. In fact, I had never read a Russian novel before. Why? The answer is quite simply that it is a Russian novel. For those not familiar with the genre of sorts, know this. At the time this was written, there was a stigma against novels in Russia, so all of the published ones strove to be works of art. They are deep, compelling, long and dry. Fathers and Sons is no exception, though it is probably one of the shorter pieces of the time. It was a great read, if not intended for quick reading at 2 AM (yes, I'm that good), and I may just have to read another Russian novel soon.