39: Turgenev Bilingual

6

Ivan Sergeyevich

An introduction to this bilingual issue on one of Russia's finest prose artists. Literature

14

Khor and Kalinych

Turgenev's story of two peasants: the enterprising Khor and the dreamy Kalinych. Literature

22

The Diary of a Superfluous Man

Turgenev's melancholy novella in which he first coined the phrase "superfluous man" that was so to influence Russian literature. Literature

30

Faust

Extract from this epistolary novella, loosely inspired by Turgenev's infatuation with a married woman who lived next door. Literature

38

Rudin

An excerpt from the finale of Turgenev's first novel, about Rudin, a "Titan in word but a pygmy in deed." Literature

48

A House of Gentlefolk

Extract from the author's least controversial and most widely read work during his lifetime. Yet Goncharov (he of Oblomov fame) accused Turgenev of plagiarizing the story from him. Literature

56

Hamlet and Don Quixote

A vitally important bit of literary (and social) criticism by Turgenev, in which he divides the world up into Hamlets and Quixotes. Literature

72

On the Eve

Turgenev's third novel, set on the eve of the Crimean War, discusses the destiny of Russia through the story of a young woman named Elena, who marries a foreign revolutionary. Literature

82

Fathers and Sons

A short excerpt from the novel that brought Turgenev world renown, with its dissection of the divide between the liberals of the 1840s and the radicals of the 1860s. Literature

94

Smoke

The novel after Fathers and Sons, in which Turgenev skewered Westernizers and Slavophiles alike. Literature

100

First Love

Turgenev's most autobiographical novel, which tells the story of a 16-year-old boy's infatuation with an older girl. Literature

110

Torrents of Spring

From another highly autobiographical novel, in which a young traveler falls madly in love with a local German girl and imagines what might have happened. Literature

118

Virgin Soil

The author's final novel, in which he examines the young idealists of the "go to the people" era. Literature