Fathers and Sons

Ivan Turgenev was the first Russian author to receive widespread acclaim in the West, and as a result, he was instrumental in promoting Russian literature outside of his own country. His most well-known and enduring book, Fathers and Sons, came out in 1862. The novel, which is also known as Fathers and Children, mainly concentrates on the interaction between the elderly and the young. The inevitable struggle between generations and between traditionalists' and intellectuals' values is depicted. Because Yevgeny Bazarov, the book's protagonist, is a nihilist who rejects all moral and religious ideals, it was considered controversial for its time. In fact, after the novel's release, the phrase "nihilism" gained popularity. Along with Dead Souls, Fathers and Sons is regarded as the first truly modern Russian novel. It was also the first Russian work to gain prominence in the Western world.

In Fathers and Sons, Ivan Turgenev examines generational disparities and their disastrous effects. Arkady and Bazarov, two young men who come home from college to a world that has remained unchanged, are the major characters of the novel. Both their friendship with one another and their ties with their fathers must now be redefined in light of the changes they have undergone. The fundamental struggle in the book is between Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, an uncle of Arkady, who preserves the aristocratic tradition in the face of Bazarov's mockery, and the nihilistic Bazarov, who advocates a solely materialistic outlook on life. Fathers and Sons originally aroused controversy in Russia, with both radicals and conservatives disturbed by the portrait of Bazarov - an energetic, cynical, and self-assured nihilist who repudiates the romanticism of his elders.

Author: Ivan Turgenev
Published: 1862