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helgamharb's review against another edition
4.0
“If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.”
It is the late 19th century in Russia.
A group of young men and women are fed up with the aristocracy and life of luxury. They want a better future for their beloved Russia than corruption and misery. Therefore, they decide to become simplified; join the “ordinary people” and live among the peasants and workers and try to convert as many as they can.
There are some major and minor characters who all play important roles in the story.
Nejdanov with his own ideas and dreams of the future, who is torn between his aristocratic past and the future he craves. He is a typical Nihilist.
Solomin who is enigmatic and cautious and you may say the cool-headed of the group.
Mariana, who would do anything for the cause. In my opinion Mariana is the strongest of them all. She is a typical future Communist, a “fighter for the cause to the death” kind of woman, a true believer.
There are moments when one must not think of oneself.
It is the late 19th century in Russia.
A group of young men and women are fed up with the aristocracy and life of luxury. They want a better future for their beloved Russia than corruption and misery. Therefore, they decide to become simplified; join the “ordinary people” and live among the peasants and workers and try to convert as many as they can.
There are some major and minor characters who all play important roles in the story.
Nejdanov with his own ideas and dreams of the future, who is torn between his aristocratic past and the future he craves. He is a typical Nihilist.
Solomin who is enigmatic and cautious and you may say the cool-headed of the group.
Mariana, who would do anything for the cause. In my opinion Mariana is the strongest of them all. She is a typical future Communist, a “fighter for the cause to the death” kind of woman, a true believer.
There are moments when one must not think of oneself.
ula_mizhir's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
technomage's review against another edition
4.0
I great piece of work. Having given up on what is to be done I didn't hold out much hope for finishing this but it is very readable and both sad yet funny.
beesandbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I’ll be honest, I was expecting this to be more like the Russian literature I’ve read in the past. I’m used to the dark, the gritty, the pessimistic. I was not expecting a romance and a plea for wifely dedication. The main couple aren’t awful, nor do they work well together. The romance didn’t fully interest me and I wasn’t invested in it. Honestly, only one character interested me out of all of them and she was constantly reduced to her beautiful eyes. In doing some research on the author, I learned that this work came after a massive creative failure of his, so perhaps he lost his spark and that is reflected in this work. Whatever the reason may be, Virgin Soil is lackluster, but not a heinous read. If you’re into this sort of book, you can always give it a shot. It’s free on Kindle!
msgtdameron's review against another edition
4.0
Turgenev examines Populism in "Virgin Soil". A movement that would over throw the Tsar and Landed Gentry and replace them with a land for the people type of government. Some form of communal governance is skirted at. The story continually turns from populism to a love story and back. it is a wonderful look at what can happen to man as he gets in over his head with ideas. Goes off prematurely and lands himself with a case of severe soul searching. Turgenev is definitely a man who wrote to be popular but just radical enough to avoid the censors. Virgin Soil shows that skirting by having all the populists run, get arrested, or die. The censor would have loved the ending. And we also should love the whole book as it is a look at how men fail when they have not prepared themselves enough for the struggle.
dreesreads's review against another edition
3.0
I was expecting an upper-class-activists-go-to-live-with-the-peasants sort of book.
This is not that at all.
The upper class activists are here. Are they wealthy? Not seemingly, but they also seem to have money. They are not peasants. This book is more of a satire of these sort of people--from Petersburg, they want to improve the lives of peasants. And they run around passing out pamphlets and generally being ignored by the peasants they are "helping". Or they are being turned in by those peasants. The peasants can't read, and they are busy working or drinking. There is even a noble landowner doing the same thing--who is arrested.
Who is sympathetic to this cause but actually doing something? The factory manager. He has succeeded in starting a school at the factory, and has had some adults taught to read. He believes in small steps that are doable.
So this books is a satire, but it is also a romance. And not a great romance--not that I am a fan of romance. It is here that this book is sad and depressing--the missed and nearly missed pairings are depressing.
So--it's a fine book with a touch too much romance. Just not what I was expecting and hoping for. I'd prefer less nobles and more peasants.
This is not that at all.
The upper class activists are here. Are they wealthy? Not seemingly, but they also seem to have money. They are not peasants. This book is more of a satire of these sort of people--from Petersburg, they want to improve the lives of peasants. And they run around passing out pamphlets and generally being ignored by the peasants they are "helping". Or they are being turned in by those peasants. The peasants can't read, and they are busy working or drinking. There is even a noble landowner doing the same thing--who is arrested.
Who is sympathetic to this cause but actually doing something? The factory manager. He has succeeded in starting a school at the factory, and has had some adults taught to read. He believes in small steps that are doable.
So this books is a satire, but it is also a romance. And not a great romance--not that I am a fan of romance. It is here that this book is sad and depressing--the missed and nearly missed pairings are depressing.
So--it's a fine book with a touch too much romance. Just not what I was expecting and hoping for. I'd prefer less nobles and more peasants.
lnatal's review
4.0
Free download available at Project Gutenberg.
Opening lines:
AT one o'clock in the afternoon of a spring day in the year 1868, a young man of twenty-seven, carelessly and shabbily dressed, was toiling up the back staircase of a five-storied house on Officers Street in St. Petersburg. Noisily shuffling his down-trodden goloshes and slowly swinging his heavy, clumsy figure, the man at last reached the very top flight and stopped before a half-open door hanging off its hinges. He did not ring the bell, but gave a loud sigh and walked straight into a small, dark passage.
4* On the Eve
4* Fathers and Sons
3* Spring Torrents
2* A Lear of the Steppes
4* Virgin Soil
TR A House of Gentlefolk
TR First Love
TR The Diary of a Superfluous Man and Other Stories
TR Sketches from a Hunter's Album
TR A Tour in the Forest
Opening lines:
AT one o'clock in the afternoon of a spring day in the year 1868, a young man of twenty-seven, carelessly and shabbily dressed, was toiling up the back staircase of a five-storied house on Officers Street in St. Petersburg. Noisily shuffling his down-trodden goloshes and slowly swinging his heavy, clumsy figure, the man at last reached the very top flight and stopped before a half-open door hanging off its hinges. He did not ring the bell, but gave a loud sigh and walked straight into a small, dark passage.
4* On the Eve
4* Fathers and Sons
3* Spring Torrents
2* A Lear of the Steppes
4* Virgin Soil
TR A House of Gentlefolk
TR First Love
TR The Diary of a Superfluous Man and Other Stories
TR Sketches from a Hunter's Album
TR A Tour in the Forest
beesandbooks's review
3.0
I’ll be honest, I was expecting this to be more like the Russian literature I’ve read in the past. I’m used to the dark, the gritty, the pessimistic. I was not expecting a romance and a plea for wifely dedication. The main couple aren’t awful, nor do they work well together. The romance didn’t fully interest me and I wasn’t invested in it. Honestly, only one character interested me out of all of them and she was constantly reduced to her beautiful eyes. In doing some research on the author, I learned that this work came after a massive creative failure of his, so perhaps he lost his spark and that is reflected in this work. Whatever the reason may be, Virgin Soil is lackluster, but not a heinous read. If you’re into this sort of book, you can always give it a shot. It’s free on Kindle!
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