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First Love & the Diary of a Superfluous Man

ivan turgenev

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Ivan Turgenev (1818–1883) was one of the greatest Russian writers of his day, and the first to gain an international reputation. His novels, among them Rudin (1856), Fathers and Sons (1862), and Virgin Soil (1877), and his many stories and plays pointedly reveal his opposition to the serf system and his profound insights into the lives, interests, and attitudes of the nobility and intelligentsia of mid-19th-century Russia.
Two of Turgenev's best works of short fiction are the touching First Love (1860), a novella known to be partly autobiographical, and The Diary of a Superfluous Man (1850), a fascinating tale of an ineffectual Russian Hamlet. Both provide a superb introduction to the keen social perception, rich characterization, and narrative command of this Russian master. Both stories are presented here in acclaimed translations by Constance Garnett.

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 25,1995

This edition

Format
96 pages, Paperback
Published
November 10, 2011 by Dover Publications
ISBN
9780486287751
ASIN
0486287750
Language
English

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About the author

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ivan turgenev

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Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (Cyrillic: Иван Сергеевич Тургенев) was a novelist, poet, and dramatist, and now ranks as one of the towering figures of Russian literature. His major works include the short-story collection A Sportsman's Sketches (1852) and the novels Rudin (1856), Home of the Gentry (1859), On the Eve (1860), and Fathers and Sons (1862).

These works offer realistic, affectionate portrayals of the Russian peasantry and penetrating studies of the Russian intelligentsia who were attempting to move the country into a new age. His masterpiece, Fathers and Sons, is considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century.

Turgenev was a contemporary with Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy. While these wrote about church and religion, Turgenev was more concerned with the movement toward social reform in Russia.

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Community Reviews

Rating(3.8 / 5.0, 17 votes)
5 stars
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17 reviews All reviews
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ko-apa
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I'm just talking about First Love here, I haven't read the other. I'm a big fan of romantic and violent Russian literature with sado-masochistic undertones. I've often fantasized about writing a screenplay for this but I think it would lose all of its magic if you could actually see the characters.
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goldenrabbit
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Both of these stories are tales of unrequited love. Full of darkly comic and cringe worthy scenes, it was a quick and wonderful read. First Love being the better of the two tales.
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Orderer
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I only read First Love, and it took a mere day. Now I'm going back to read the introduction. The story paints an accurate picture of what a first teenage love is often like. Something unspoken, merely alluded to, is going on with the object of the main characters affection.
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fluffyikira
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Recommended by Emma! Fascinating character depictions, with strong undertones of Russian socio-political tensions. Tremendous translation- and the prose are beautifully concise.
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sparton250
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Turgenev's "The Diary of a Superfluous Man" is a clssic of emotional and psychological distress, and despite being a century and a half old, feels like it was written last week. Timeless, beautiful and tragic. And being Turgenev, it has an awesome duel!
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Crazyripps
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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من بداية الرواية وشعور كان دمجت رواية دوستوفيسكي في قبوي مع المعطف لنيكولاي غوغول والخلاصة هذه المذكرات التي تجد طريقها الى روح الإنسان وبسهولة تستطيع إسقاطها على حياتنا اليوم رغم أنها من القرن التاسع عشر
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Senime
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Welll i just wanna say that It's a good read BUTTT

The text are too compacted and long in one page , so in some parts of reading this books you'll get bored and just don't seem to read no more it's like reading a manuscript or Analyzing an deposition and widrawal record of a bank account, Anywayss The story was Quite longgg i guess? The point was very long to be said.

But i give it a 3 star kinda grow on me and some parts of it can be really relatable even if it's dated back to18th century
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cBuny
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Just beautiful. Both stories are eminently teachable. So well made, and psychologically rich.
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