Having read Orlando Figes' masterly history of Russian culture it seemed only fair to take a dig into the rich seam of Russian writing. Ivan Turgenev's 'Father and Sons' has been described as the first modern Russian novel, and I think it is one of the best (and it is quite short!). It is easy to read, thanks no doubt in part to the translator(Peter Carson in the Penguin Classic edition), with lots of dialogue, social comment and many colourful characters vividly portrayed. It was written in the middle of the nineteenth century but seems modern in its lively style. What shines through is the humanity of the author; some of the people he portrays seem ridiculous, like the pretentious Pavel Kirsanov, but Turgenev gives them all backgrounds that help to explain why they behave in the way that they do. Their faults blemishes stem from their experiences in life; they are human beings, imperfect as we all are. Yevgeny Bazarov, arguably the main character, is tragic, but all through the book it seems the author is pointing to the need to make the most of life even when faced with bad circumstances, and to be open to other people, especially not to reject love when it has the chance to blossom. Turgenev clearly felt there was a gulf between his generation, who wanted to reform Russian society towards a more western model, and a younger generation, that he describes as 'nihilists', who wanted nothing to do with the old world. Ultimately, it is arguable that this generation gulf led later on to what Orlando Figes called 'A People's Tragedy' in his other brilliant book about the Russian revolution, but Turgenev gives us a moving snapshot of people about half a century before that watershed, people living and loving, but all trapped in the structure of that old society.
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