Fathers and Sons
Ivan Turgenev · 1818–1883 · Russia
Originally Ottsy i Deti (Russian)
Why it matters
Bazarov the nihilist (the word enters the world here) against his elders' liberal pieties, and against love, which defeats him. The subtlest novel of generational war, admired even by the radicals it offended.
At a glance
psychological novelfamily saga
Difficulty 3/10medium pace248 pagesRestrained, conversational realism with clear scenes and a compact cast.
Deep dive
A self-declared nihilist who rejects every inherited value runs headlong into the one force his philosophy insists doesn't matter, and has to discover whether ideas can actually inoculate a person against feeling.
