Turgenev works?

[adleberg]

Can anyone recommend to me a good Turgenev novel they have read? And which publisher has the best Turgenev translation?

[Radio Saturday]

I've only read "Fathers and Sons," which I liked a lot. The translation that I read, however, wasn't very good. It went from stiff to strange attempts at modern usages (I think one character actually says "Get lost!" at on point, which kind of spoils the book for me). That was the Richard Freeborn translation. So, verdict: good book, avoid Freeborn.  

[axon]

I've aslo read "F&S" - pretty decent read, but nothing to write home about...I've read Matlaw's revision of Garnette's translation.

[Worm]

Well, the books I like of Turgenew, are "Fathers and sons", "Rudin", "the diary of a superfluous man" and "First love".

My opinion, of F&S, is that i think it's a very great book...and very much worth to write home about, i don't see why it shouldn't be one.  
It's also categorized as a classic in world literature, which means to me it's basically a must-read.  You'll enjoy this book.

"Rudin" i loved very muchly.  It's a short story about a travelling man who visits a small family, and there's a mixture between this special individual and the others, and ofcourse, typical for Turgenew, is that there's a lovestory sewn into it.

The other two novels i read a long long time ago and i can't say much about them ... i just remember that they are good books ...



I don't know anything about which translation is better or worse because i read only in dutch.

[adleberg]

Thanks..i think ill be adding Turgenev on my TO READ pile

[Radio Saturday]

There's also an interesting charicature of Turgenev in his later years in D's "Demons." I only knew about it because it was mentione in the notes.  

[K.]

There's also an interesting charicature of Turgenev in his later years in D's "Demons." I only knew about it because it was mentione in the notes.  

Haha! I don't know if I could read Turgenev now and take him seriously after reading Demons.

[adleberg]

It's true, the only picture I can have of Turgenev when Im reading is the one from Demons

[Worm]

I view Dostoevskys critique of Turgenew as correct, but still, he's still an accomplished artist.  He's just a different kind of writer than is Dostoevsky.

If i remember correctly, Dostoevsky criticized him for leaving the country, and for not really caring about Russia, and for being someone who is just full of himself.

The books of Turgenew that i've read, i've definitly enjoyed.
If all the Russian writers would have written books about axe murderers and patricides, the whole terrain would have looked very very gloomy.  The love stories of Turgenew are refreshing.

[axon]

BTW, it is Turgenev who coined the term "nihilist"

[Worm]

And that's the word the majority didn't understand and which they twisted into a whole different thing.

. .. it's amusing to think the amount of trouble he would have spared himself if he hadn't invented that one word ... or rather, to be more correct, if the people of his time were smarter ...  

[lerik]

I have read "Fathers and sons", "Rudin"(my favorite Turgenev novel), "First love", "Asya", "Nest of Gentlefolk" and "A sprort'sman sketches".Try reading them

[SFG75]

Can't say enough about Fathers and Sons.  You really have to feel for Turgenev though.  Radicals hated him for how Bazarov ended up, while conservatives thought he was lampooning the older generation.  On top of that, many of his contemporaries mistook his aloofness for weak mindedness.  The poor guy just couldn't catch a break.

NPR has a great read and audio piece about the greatness of Fathers and Sons.

[PointCounterPoint]

Am glad to see that you all have respect for Mr. Turgenev. I love the man very much, anything by him is masterpiece. Is terrible history has portrayed him as villian. I think he was as misunderstood as Nietzsche. He was trying to warn of impending doom...

[Worm]