A review by romanoirs
Rudin by Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev
4.0
I have read 22 of Turgenev's short stories, novels and novellas and even after all this time he still can render me speechless. That is the mark of a great writer and it is unfathomable to me that this was his first novel - it was wonderful.
Rudin, I would argue, is not what someone would describe as a 'likeable' character. He is endlessly chasing ideas and notions and theories but never follows through. He is empty; hollow. He is charismatic but when you look past his surface level intelligence and knowledge he is someone with no substance. But, with all that said, he is someone everyone has met. You will find people like him in university classrooms the world over. Once the shiny layer is broken you can see him for what he really is: the superfluous man. In later novellas and novels Turgenev explores this kind of character time and time again and I'm never not charmed by it. No one explores this kind of type of character better.
Rudin the novel follows Rudin the character as he is introduced to a country aristocratic circle. They are all enamoured with him until his real self is discovered underneath his 'golden' physical image. He is weak compared to Natalya, the main young girl who falls in love with him. She goes on to live a fulfilled and happy life and, unfortunately for Rudin, that life was never on the cards for him.
Rudin is a novel that explores elements of the human psyche in a way I haven't seen before. It's very much a first novel with it's occasional spiels into philosophical ideas that are just there and references of literature and mythology that inspired a younger Turgenev. This is a novel where Turgenev is finding his voice and who he is as a writer. It's a must read for all who like Turgenev and it is a brilliant first novel.
Rudin, I would argue, is not what someone would describe as a 'likeable' character. He is endlessly chasing ideas and notions and theories but never follows through. He is empty; hollow. He is charismatic but when you look past his surface level intelligence and knowledge he is someone with no substance. But, with all that said, he is someone everyone has met. You will find people like him in university classrooms the world over. Once the shiny layer is broken you can see him for what he really is: the superfluous man. In later novellas and novels Turgenev explores this kind of character time and time again and I'm never not charmed by it. No one explores this kind of type of character better.
Rudin the novel follows Rudin the character as he is introduced to a country aristocratic circle. They are all enamoured with him until his real self is discovered underneath his 'golden' physical image. He is weak compared to Natalya, the main young girl who falls in love with him. She goes on to live a fulfilled and happy life and, unfortunately for Rudin, that life was never on the cards for him.
Rudin is a novel that explores elements of the human psyche in a way I haven't seen before. It's very much a first novel with it's occasional spiels into philosophical ideas that are just there and references of literature and mythology that inspired a younger Turgenev. This is a novel where Turgenev is finding his voice and who he is as a writer. It's a must read for all who like Turgenev and it is a brilliant first novel.