Fathers and Sons by Turgenev

Join us on November 29 as we discuss Turgenev's Fathers and Sons. This explosive 19th-century classic often makes the "Top 100" lists of novels ever written. At 230 pages, it is also mercifully short by Russian literary standards.

The novel explores generational conflict in the tense, shifting world of 19th-century Russia. When young university graduate Arkady returns to the family estate with his friend Bazarov, an arrogant nihilist who rejects tradition, religion, and authority, a quiet intellectual war erupts. Bazarov's radical ideas collide with the messy, inescapable realities of love, family, and mortality. The novel asks what happens when the future tries to tear down the past.

Michael Katz provides a great translation that includes additional critical essays. Although Turgenev's great work is mostly known by the name we use in our subject line, Katz uses the original (and slightly less gendered) title, Fathers and Children. You can find his translation on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and local retailers.

So, join us as we discuss one of the great works of 19th-century Russian literature.