Oblomov
Set at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when idleness was still looked upon by Russia’s serf-owning rural gentry as a plausible and worthy goal, Ivan Goncharov’s Oblomov follows the travails of an unlikely hero, a young aristocrat incapable of making a decision. Indolent, inattentive,...
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Set at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when idleness was still looked upon by Russia’s serf-owning rural gentry as a plausible and worthy goal, Ivan Goncharov’s Oblomov follows the travails of an unlikely hero, a young aristocrat incapable of making a decision. Indolent, inattentive, incurious, given to daydreaming and procrastination, Oblomov clearly predates the ideal of the industrious modern man, yet he is impossible not to admire through Goncharov’s masterful prose. Translator Marian Schwartz breathes new life into this Russian masterpiece in this, the first translation from the generally recognized definitive edition of the original, as well the first to attempt to replicate in English Goncharov’s wry humor and all-embracing humanity. Replete with ingenious social satire and cutting criticism of nineteenth-century Russian society, this edition of Oblomov will introduce new readers to the novel that Leo Tolstoy praised as “a truly great work, the likes of which one has not seen for a long, long time.”
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780300162288 (0300162286)
Publish date: March 2nd 2010
Publisher: Yale University Press
Pages no: 553
Edition language: English
Category:
Classics,
Novels,
Humor,
Literature,
Cultural,
Historical Fiction,
Classic Literature,
Literary Fiction,
19th Century,
Russia,
Russian Literature
There are some very good reviews here explaining the importance of Oblomov and its message: this is Russia on the eve of modernity, and Goncharov presents the evil of the old ways: inertia, reluctance to change, or learn from travel, or – perhaps the most difficult – spend in order to prosper. In th...
Introduction.Opening: Ilya Ilyich Oblomov was lying in bed one morning in his flat in Gorokhovaya Street in one of those large houses which have as many inhabitants as a country town.I'd like someone far cleverer than yours truly, to compare and contrast Léonie from Swann's Way with Oblomov. You kn...
I love Russian literature and i liked this initially, but I can't stand that for most of the the fact he doesn't get out of bed. Considering sloth etc is what this whole book is about, didn't bode well....
ChronologyIntroductionFurther Reading--Oblomov
ChronologyIntroductionFurther Reading--Oblomov