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The Torrents of Spring
The story centers around a young Russian landowner named Dimitry Sanin who falls deliriously in love for the first time while visiting the German city of Frankfurt. It is widely held as one Turgenev's greatest novels as well as being highly autobiographical in nature. "You saved my brother's life, we want to thank you -- come to see us this we are so indebted to you -- mother wants to. You must tell us who you are, you must rejoice with us . . ." "But I am leaving for Berlin today," Sanin faltered out. "You will have time," she said. She was so beautiful. So beautiful.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1872
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About the author
Ivan Turgenev
1,832 books2,767 followersIvan Sergeyevich Turgenev (Cyrillic: Иван Сергеевич Тургенев) was a novelist, poet, and dramatist, and now ranks as one of the towering figures of Russian literature. His major works include the short-story collection A Sportsman’s Sketches (1852) and the novels Rudin (1856), Home of the Gentry (1859), On the Eve (1860), and Fathers and Sons (1862).
These works offer realistic, affectionate portrayals of the Russian peasantry and penetrating studies of the Russian intelligentsia who were attempting to move the country into a new age. His masterpiece, Fathers and Sons, is considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century.
Turgenev was a contemporary with Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy. While these wrote about church and religion, Turgenev was more concerned with the movement toward social reform in Russia.
These works offer realistic, affectionate portrayals of the Russian peasantry and penetrating studies of the Russian intelligentsia who were attempting to move the country into a new age. His masterpiece, Fathers and Sons, is considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century.
Turgenev was a contemporary with Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy. While these wrote about church and religion, Turgenev was more concerned with the movement toward social reform in Russia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 476 reviews
September 9, 2025
Another entertaining book by Mr Turgenev.
The author seems more optimistic than his peers:
even though in Torrents: love and betrayal compete
disastrously, he still manages at the end to resolve
his hero and his heroine with some happiness.
An artful story teller. Very recommendable.
The author seems more optimistic than his peers:
even though in Torrents: love and betrayal compete
disastrously, he still manages at the end to resolve
his hero and his heroine with some happiness.
An artful story teller. Very recommendable.
June 2, 2019
¡Ese final! Ese final consigue que esta novela no sea simplemente una lectura deliciosamente agradable y muy bien escrita.
Los rusos, amigo, no hay ni uno optimista. Como a mi me gusta 💔
Los rusos, amigo, no hay ni uno optimista. Como a mi me gusta 💔
July 3, 2018
If I understood well, Turgenev planned for Spring Torrents to be a short story, but at some point he changed his mind and turned it into a novel. I can't complain, because I think this books makes for a fine novel, even if a bit unorthodox one. One could argue that it is unbalanced. One could even make good points for it. The arrival of femme fatale on the scene feels a bit too sudden ' deux in machina', especially since it happens so late in story and there is no preparation for it.
But what a femme fatale Maria Nikolaevna is! Her arrival not only completely turns the story around, it also happens very suddenly. Structurally, this could be the novel's flaw...and yet I'm not sure it wasn't indeed intended to come off as a shock. The way I see it, this is where the novel turns from romantic realism (and regular realism) towards naturalism. I'll explain what I mean a bit later on. In some ways similar to First Love and Asya, this is a novel that tells the story of a young man falling in love for the first time. You know, I was convinced that I already wrote a review for this one (perhaps because I referenced it in my review of First Love), but looks like I forgot to review this one. Better late than never, right?
Like many of Turgenev's works, Torrents of Spring is a framed narrative, told by an older character who remembers and retells his youthful experiences. The novel has an introductory part, in which our protagonist finds a cross that reminds him of the love of his life, transporting him into the past where our story starts, the story of Dmitri Pavlovich Sanin, a young Russian man travelling Europe. Almost by accident, Sanin saves a life of an Italian boy who happens to be the brother of a beautiful Gemma. Accepting the invitation of this Italian family who made Germany their home, Sanin misses his train and find himself delaying the continuation of his trip. Sanin is fascinated by this family and more importantly bewitched by the young and innocent Gemma. Unfortunately, Gemma is engaged to a rather boring German guy whom Gemma's mothers sees as a great marriage prospect. This is a novel with a number of twists and turns, a bit more eventful than other similar works of Turgenev in the sense there are (as I see it) two plots. First we follow the turbulent falling in love of young and deeply (almost annoyingly) moral Russian man into a beautiful and pure but engaged young Italian lady. Will they manage to fight for their love? Will they admit their feelings to others and themselves? Will Sanin manage to convince his sweetheart's mother that he is a potentially good son in law?
This part of the novel reminded me not only of Asya & First Love but also of The Hero of Our Time, and other similar Russian classics. You know, the duels, the courting, the dramatic inner life of characters falling in love. The style of writing seems typical for both typical Russian realism and its forerunner Romantic Realism, meaning we get a good insight into psychological development of characters. Moreover, we get objective reflections on the human nature, the differences between different levels of society, study of cultural difference and so on.
Once Maria Nikolaevna enters the story, the tone of the novel changes immensely. Instantly, it becomes quite dark and sinister. It is a journey into naturalism. Our Maria Nikolaevna has a quick wit, but that's about it. One could hardly call her an intellectual. She is a creature of passion and instinct, a true naturalistic heroine. At one point, the writer compares Marias's eyes (in triumph) with the stupid glance of bird of pray upon catching its victim. The animal metaphor is no accident. Sanin feels attracted to Maria despite the fact that he doesn't like her, that she bores him.
Why does Sanin feel so attracted to her? They are about the same age, but Maria is infinitely more experienced. Is it just Sanin's bad luck that he is handsome enough to catch the interest of the ruthless femme fatale? Perhaps there are a number of factors that cause Sanin to be attracted to Maria. Not everyone might notice it, but in the heat of his love and his marriage proposal to Gemma, Sanin agrees to sell not only his land, but his serfs as well. To sell people! It seems insane now, but it was the practice of the times. Turgenev had very strong views against it, and he made it a part of this story, even in a small way.
While I was reading this one, I caught myself asking so many questions? Was Sanin second guessing his choice of selling his land and serfs? Was he wondering whether cultural difference will be too much? Was he attracted to Maria because she was ethnically Russian like himself, a link to his home in a foreign and suddenly confusing land? Was it because he was so inexperienced or was it just human weakness? Was Turgenev trying to point out how true love always scares us and how it is easy to give into bodily temptation? It was painful to watch Maria cast her net around Sanin. Still, it was a very interesting part of the novel, perhaps because of all the tension.
I absolutely loved the portrayal of Maria. Despite the fact she seems (and sort of is) quite evil, a calculating seductress, she feels very real at the same time. It is not always easy to write the villains, quite often they turn into caricature. Maria is nothing of the sort, despite the fact she appears abruptly and doesn't stay for long, she is such a colourful and well rounded character. It is easy to see why her appeal, as Maria seems so full of life. To conclude, this an unusual novel, that at times feels like two novels joined into one, but it is no less successful for it. In my view, Spring Torrents is an absolute masterpiece.
But what a femme fatale Maria Nikolaevna is! Her arrival not only completely turns the story around, it also happens very suddenly. Structurally, this could be the novel's flaw...and yet I'm not sure it wasn't indeed intended to come off as a shock. The way I see it, this is where the novel turns from romantic realism (and regular realism) towards naturalism. I'll explain what I mean a bit later on. In some ways similar to First Love and Asya, this is a novel that tells the story of a young man falling in love for the first time. You know, I was convinced that I already wrote a review for this one (perhaps because I referenced it in my review of First Love), but looks like I forgot to review this one. Better late than never, right?
Like many of Turgenev's works, Torrents of Spring is a framed narrative, told by an older character who remembers and retells his youthful experiences. The novel has an introductory part, in which our protagonist finds a cross that reminds him of the love of his life, transporting him into the past where our story starts, the story of Dmitri Pavlovich Sanin, a young Russian man travelling Europe. Almost by accident, Sanin saves a life of an Italian boy who happens to be the brother of a beautiful Gemma. Accepting the invitation of this Italian family who made Germany their home, Sanin misses his train and find himself delaying the continuation of his trip. Sanin is fascinated by this family and more importantly bewitched by the young and innocent Gemma. Unfortunately, Gemma is engaged to a rather boring German guy whom Gemma's mothers sees as a great marriage prospect. This is a novel with a number of twists and turns, a bit more eventful than other similar works of Turgenev in the sense there are (as I see it) two plots. First we follow the turbulent falling in love of young and deeply (almost annoyingly) moral Russian man into a beautiful and pure but engaged young Italian lady. Will they manage to fight for their love? Will they admit their feelings to others and themselves? Will Sanin manage to convince his sweetheart's mother that he is a potentially good son in law?
This part of the novel reminded me not only of Asya & First Love but also of The Hero of Our Time, and other similar Russian classics. You know, the duels, the courting, the dramatic inner life of characters falling in love. The style of writing seems typical for both typical Russian realism and its forerunner Romantic Realism, meaning we get a good insight into psychological development of characters. Moreover, we get objective reflections on the human nature, the differences between different levels of society, study of cultural difference and so on.
Once Maria Nikolaevna enters the story, the tone of the novel changes immensely. Instantly, it becomes quite dark and sinister. It is a journey into naturalism. Our Maria Nikolaevna has a quick wit, but that's about it. One could hardly call her an intellectual. She is a creature of passion and instinct, a true naturalistic heroine. At one point, the writer compares Marias's eyes (in triumph) with the stupid glance of bird of pray upon catching its victim. The animal metaphor is no accident. Sanin feels attracted to Maria despite the fact that he doesn't like her, that she bores him.
Why does Sanin feel so attracted to her? They are about the same age, but Maria is infinitely more experienced. Is it just Sanin's bad luck that he is handsome enough to catch the interest of the ruthless femme fatale? Perhaps there are a number of factors that cause Sanin to be attracted to Maria. Not everyone might notice it, but in the heat of his love and his marriage proposal to Gemma, Sanin agrees to sell not only his land, but his serfs as well. To sell people! It seems insane now, but it was the practice of the times. Turgenev had very strong views against it, and he made it a part of this story, even in a small way.
While I was reading this one, I caught myself asking so many questions? Was Sanin second guessing his choice of selling his land and serfs? Was he wondering whether cultural difference will be too much? Was he attracted to Maria because she was ethnically Russian like himself, a link to his home in a foreign and suddenly confusing land? Was it because he was so inexperienced or was it just human weakness? Was Turgenev trying to point out how true love always scares us and how it is easy to give into bodily temptation? It was painful to watch Maria cast her net around Sanin. Still, it was a very interesting part of the novel, perhaps because of all the tension.
I absolutely loved the portrayal of Maria. Despite the fact she seems (and sort of is) quite evil, a calculating seductress, she feels very real at the same time. It is not always easy to write the villains, quite often they turn into caricature. Maria is nothing of the sort, despite the fact she appears abruptly and doesn't stay for long, she is such a colourful and well rounded character. It is easy to see why her appeal, as Maria seems so full of life. To conclude, this an unusual novel, that at times feels like two novels joined into one, but it is no less successful for it. In my view, Spring Torrents is an absolute masterpiece.
April 2, 2018
This book was surprisingly good! I must thank my Goodreads friend Kelly for finding this author! I will definitely be reading more by him! 😊
December 8, 2021
That's it; Turgenev is officially my favourite Russian! I guess this novelette was written to remind us how love can drive us astray, shift our personality and ultimately alter our life course (be it for better or worse). Powerful prose and colourful images of the romantic era, also a female character (Maria) that you will love to hate. I couldn't help but notice some subtle elements of class collision (the love between the young Russian aristocrat and the beautiful but poor Italian girl) and the not-so-subtle comments on serfdom.
March 18, 2021
▪️4,5▪️ επειδή θα ήθελα ένα πιο ρομαντικό τέλος και όχι τόσο γλυκόπικρο, αλλά τι περιμένεις από ρωσική λογοτεχνία; 😋
Γενικά όμως μου άρεσε πολύ και λάτρεψα τη γραφή του Turgenev. Buddy-read με την αγαπημένη Φαίδρα! ❣️
Γενικά όμως μου άρεσε πολύ και λάτρεψα τη γραφή του Turgenev. Buddy-read με την αγαπημένη Φαίδρα! ❣️
June 11, 2013
I have never read a book so swiftly and with such interest. I could almost laugh at how true this story felt to me; there could not be characters any more real or suited to my taste if I had written a novel myself. The plot is engaging and moves at a rapid pace, there is never a dull moment. The prose is simple and astoundingly authentic, but there is also a great deal of romanticism, which makes for a seamless combination. This is by far my favorite piece of writing and it is a true masterpiece that reads almost as if it were a symphony or an opera itself. While I am sad to have finished it so quickly I now "raise my glass to the beautiful and lofty" and toast to this mesmerizing composition!
January 18, 2021
الحب الحقيقي لا يُنسى يبقى مثل النقش على الصدر.
لكن هل ننجح في حمايته من سيدة مثل ماريا.
ملكة الاغواء.
لاول مرة تُرشح لي صديقتي في العمل روابة رومانسية كلاسكية .
18/janv/21
لكن هل ننجح في حمايته من سيدة مثل ماريا.
ملكة الاغواء.
لاول مرة تُرشح لي صديقتي في العمل روابة رومانسية كلاسكية .
18/janv/21
February 20, 2022
22nd book of 2022
"The entire novel is true. I personally lived and felt it. It is my own history." Ivan Turgenev to a friend.
Spring Torrents first published in 1871 is a semi autobiographical novella written by Ivan Turgenev that recounts an episode in his life when traveling to Germany when we crossed paths with a beautiful woman that forever stamped his heart.
The themes within this novella are some of the favorites of Turgenev. One of the biggest of these being man's inability to fall in love without losing his innocence. Which is played out in Spring Torrents through our protagonist Dimitry Sanin a Russian gentleman traveling back home to Russia after a stay in Italy by way of Frankfurt Germany. Upon entering a patisserie shop, the course of his life changes upon the chance meeting of Gemma Roselli, a beautiful young women who's family runs the small sweets shop.
This is a story of love, loss of innocence, and the blinding forces of first loves won and lost.
I enjoyed this novella, it is quite an easy read, they writing is accessible, the characters are relatable and the story is one that can be consumed in a few hours. Four stars.
"The entire novel is true. I personally lived and felt it. It is my own history." Ivan Turgenev to a friend.
Spring Torrents first published in 1871 is a semi autobiographical novella written by Ivan Turgenev that recounts an episode in his life when traveling to Germany when we crossed paths with a beautiful woman that forever stamped his heart.
The themes within this novella are some of the favorites of Turgenev. One of the biggest of these being man's inability to fall in love without losing his innocence. Which is played out in Spring Torrents through our protagonist Dimitry Sanin a Russian gentleman traveling back home to Russia after a stay in Italy by way of Frankfurt Germany. Upon entering a patisserie shop, the course of his life changes upon the chance meeting of Gemma Roselli, a beautiful young women who's family runs the small sweets shop.
This is a story of love, loss of innocence, and the blinding forces of first loves won and lost.
I enjoyed this novella, it is quite an easy read, they writing is accessible, the characters are relatable and the story is one that can be consumed in a few hours. Four stars.
May 29, 2016
3.5 stars
It’s a while since I read any Turgenev and this is regarded as one of Turgenev’s better novels, if not his best known. Like Proust’s madeleine, here a garnet cross triggers recollection in Sanin. Sanin is 52 and the cross takes him back thirty years, to his youth and first love.
Sanin was travelling and visited Frankfurt; passing a shop he is called in to assist a boy in distress. He successfully provides aid and is very taken with the boy’s elder sister Gemma. The family take him out as thanks and he meets Gemma’s very uptight fiancé Herr Kluber. Whilst they are out an army officer insults Gemma. Kluber takes the party away, but Sanin stays behind and challenges the officer and they end up fighting a duel. The upshot is Gemma breaks with Kluber and becomes engaged to Sanin. Sanin impulsively decides to sell his estate (peasants and all) to marry Gemma. All this has taken just a few days. Sanin meets an old school friend Polozov who says his wife, who is rich may buy his estate. Sanin travels to Wiesbaden where she is staying to negotiate a sale and finds another beautiful and charming woman, Maria. Unknown to Sanin husband and wife have a wager that she can seduce him.
As you can see the plot is fairly thin and the themes involved are innocence, passion, obsession and the power of memory (not to mention the stupidity of men!). According to Turgenev this is an autobiographical novel, very much true to life. It is certainly well written and easy to read. It is true that Turgenev had a lifelong affair/obsession with the opera singer Pauline Viardot; he travelled Europe to be near her and never married. It was certainly a brave novel to write; Sanin is not a sympathetic character, but a stupid, self-centred and careless young man with little thought for the feelings of others. There is a remarkable passage towards the end of the novel when Maria Polozov asks Sanin what he is going to do:
“'I am going where you will be, and will be with you till you drive me away,' he answered with despair and pressed close to him the hands of his sovereign. She freed her hands, laid them on his head, and clutched at his hair with her fingers. She slowly turned over and twisted the unresisting hair, drew herself up, her lips curled with triumph, while her eyes, wide and clear, almost white, expressed nothing but the ruthlessness and glutted joy of conquest. The hawk, as it clutches a captured bird, has eyes like that.”
Tell me this is not the virgin/whore dichotomy all over again. We have nineteen year old Gemma who is innocent and vulnerable and we have Maria who is a cold-hearted seductress; oh dear it appears we do!
There are some very good minor characters, especially Pantaleone and Emilio and the whole is well constructed. It was written when Turgenev was in his 50s and shows a certain cynicism about first love and illustrates the stupidity of youth. The female characters though well drawn are somewhat predictable and one-dimensional, although they have a little more nuance than some of Dickens’s heroines. It’s an easy introduction to Turgenev because of its brevity and ease of reading.
It’s a while since I read any Turgenev and this is regarded as one of Turgenev’s better novels, if not his best known. Like Proust’s madeleine, here a garnet cross triggers recollection in Sanin. Sanin is 52 and the cross takes him back thirty years, to his youth and first love.
Sanin was travelling and visited Frankfurt; passing a shop he is called in to assist a boy in distress. He successfully provides aid and is very taken with the boy’s elder sister Gemma. The family take him out as thanks and he meets Gemma’s very uptight fiancé Herr Kluber. Whilst they are out an army officer insults Gemma. Kluber takes the party away, but Sanin stays behind and challenges the officer and they end up fighting a duel. The upshot is Gemma breaks with Kluber and becomes engaged to Sanin. Sanin impulsively decides to sell his estate (peasants and all) to marry Gemma. All this has taken just a few days. Sanin meets an old school friend Polozov who says his wife, who is rich may buy his estate. Sanin travels to Wiesbaden where she is staying to negotiate a sale and finds another beautiful and charming woman, Maria. Unknown to Sanin husband and wife have a wager that she can seduce him.
As you can see the plot is fairly thin and the themes involved are innocence, passion, obsession and the power of memory (not to mention the stupidity of men!). According to Turgenev this is an autobiographical novel, very much true to life. It is certainly well written and easy to read. It is true that Turgenev had a lifelong affair/obsession with the opera singer Pauline Viardot; he travelled Europe to be near her and never married. It was certainly a brave novel to write; Sanin is not a sympathetic character, but a stupid, self-centred and careless young man with little thought for the feelings of others. There is a remarkable passage towards the end of the novel when Maria Polozov asks Sanin what he is going to do:
“'I am going where you will be, and will be with you till you drive me away,' he answered with despair and pressed close to him the hands of his sovereign. She freed her hands, laid them on his head, and clutched at his hair with her fingers. She slowly turned over and twisted the unresisting hair, drew herself up, her lips curled with triumph, while her eyes, wide and clear, almost white, expressed nothing but the ruthlessness and glutted joy of conquest. The hawk, as it clutches a captured bird, has eyes like that.”
Tell me this is not the virgin/whore dichotomy all over again. We have nineteen year old Gemma who is innocent and vulnerable and we have Maria who is a cold-hearted seductress; oh dear it appears we do!
There are some very good minor characters, especially Pantaleone and Emilio and the whole is well constructed. It was written when Turgenev was in his 50s and shows a certain cynicism about first love and illustrates the stupidity of youth. The female characters though well drawn are somewhat predictable and one-dimensional, although they have a little more nuance than some of Dickens’s heroines. It’s an easy introduction to Turgenev because of its brevity and ease of reading.
March 17, 2021
Μην τα φοβάστε τα κλασσικά. Δοκιμάστε τα πιο μικρά για αρχή. Δώστε μια ευκαιρία σε ένα σαν τα "Ανοιξιάτικα Νερά" και θα δείτε τη διαχρονικότητά τους. Την μεγαλοφυΐα τους.
Η κριτική μου σήμερα έχει ορισμένα πολύ μικρά spoilers. Δεν θεωρώ πως μπορούν να καταστρέψουν την χαρά μιας μελλοντικής ανάγνωσης, ούτε τις ανατροπές που υπάρχουν.
Ένα ερωτικό, ρομαντικό μυθιστόρημα. Ο συγγραφέας εξυμνεί την πρώτη αγάπη καθώς τη γνωρίζει σε ένα του ταξίδι.
Δεν νομίζω πως έχω διαβάσει καλύτερη σκιαγράφηση χαρακτήρων από αυτή που έκανε εδώ ο Τουργκένιεφ. Είναι λίγοι που συγκρίνονται με την ποιητική γραφή του. Τα συναισθήματα, την αμεσότητα, τον τρόπο που αφηγείται τριτοπρόσωπα, μα αντιλαμβάνεται πως ο χαρακτήρας έχει πλέον τόσο βάθος, που κινείται μόνος του, δεν μπορεί αν τον ελέγξει.
Ο πρωταγωνιστής είναι ένας τέτοιος, αδύναμος χαρακτήρας, που ερωτεύεται. Οι χαρακτήρες αυτοί είναι γνωστό πως μαγνητίζουν έντονα δυναμικές προσωπικότητες. Εκδόθηκε λέει αρχικά το 1872. Κι όμως, ο συγγραφέας, επηρεασμένος ίσως από την αυταρχική μητέρα του, δημιουργεί μια πραγματική αμαζόνα, μια κυριαρχική γυναίκα, μια προσωπικότητα που τον υποδουλώνει και τον χειρίζεται σε τέτοιο βαθμό που ξεχνά την ίδια την αγάπη που ένιωσε. Γιατί του προσφέρει κάτι που θεωρούν τα νιάτα ισχυρότερο.
Δεν μπορώ να πω πολλά για τα Ανοιξιάτικα Νερά. Είναι ρομαντικό, έχει πάθος, αλήθεια, λυρισμό και βάθος. Σίγουρα ελπίζω να το διαβάσετε και να το αγαπήσετε όσο εγώ. Που χαίρομαι τόσο με την απόφασή μου να διαβάσω περισσότερα κλασσικά μέσα στο 2021!
Συνανάγνωση με την υπέροχη Αθηνά
ΥΓ. Αν και "Ανοιξιάτικα" τα νερά, η ιστορία διαδραματίζεται Καλοκαίρι.
Η κριτική μου σήμερα έχει ορισμένα πολύ μικρά spoilers. Δεν θεωρώ πως μπορούν να καταστρέψουν την χαρά μιας μελλοντικής ανάγνωσης, ούτε τις ανατροπές που υπάρχουν.
Ένα ερωτικό, ρομαντικό μυθιστόρημα. Ο συγγραφέας εξυμνεί την πρώτη αγάπη καθώς τη γνωρίζει σε ένα του ταξίδι.
Και οι δυο αγαπούσαν για πρώτη φορά· όλες οι χάρες της πρώτης αγάπης ήταν τώρα μπροστά τους, Η πρώτη αγάπη είναι μια επανάσταση...
Δεν νομίζω πως έχω διαβάσει καλύτερη σκιαγράφηση χαρακτήρων από αυτή που έκανε εδώ ο Τουργκένιεφ. Είναι λίγοι που συγκρίνονται με την ποιητική γραφή του. Τα συναισθήματα, την αμεσότητα, τον τρόπο που αφηγείται τριτοπρόσωπα, μα αντιλαμβάνεται πως ο χαρακτήρας έχει πλέον τόσο βάθος, που κινείται μόνος του, δεν μπορεί αν τον ελέγξει.
Οι αδύνατοι χαρακτήρες, κάθε φορά που μιλάνε με τον εαυτό τους, δε διστάζουν να εκφράζονται δυναμικά.
Ο πρωταγωνιστής είναι ένας τέτοιος, αδύναμος χαρακτήρας, που ερωτεύεται. Οι χαρακτήρες αυτοί είναι γνωστό πως μαγνητίζουν έντονα δυναμικές προσωπικότητες. Εκδόθηκε λέει αρχικά το 1872. Κι όμως, ο συγγραφέας, επηρεασμένος ίσως από την αυταρχική μητέρα του, δημιουργεί μια πραγματική αμαζόνα, μια κυριαρχική γυναίκα, μια προσωπικότητα που τον υποδουλώνει και τον χειρίζεται σε τέτοιο βαθμό που ξεχνά την ίδια την αγάπη που ένιωσε. Γιατί του προσφέρει κάτι που θεωρούν τα νιάτα ισχυρότερο.
Ορίστε, άρχισε εκείνη μ' ένα βαθύ αναστεναγμό ευτυχίας, ιδού το μόνο πράγμα που κάνει τη ζωή άξια να τη ζει κανείς. Μπόρεσες κι έκανες αυτό που σου άρεσε, που φαινόταν ακατόρθωτο, και τώρα χαίρου, ψυχή, ως το έπακρο!
Δεν μπορώ να πω πολλά για τα Ανοιξιάτικα Νερά. Είναι ρομαντικό, έχει πάθος, αλήθεια, λυρισμό και βάθος. Σίγουρα ελπίζω να το διαβάσετε και να το αγαπήσετε όσο εγώ. Που χαίρομαι τόσο με την απόφασή μου να διαβάσω περισσότερα κλασσικά μέσα στο 2021!
Αλήθεια, μας συμβαίνει καμιά φορά ν' αναρωτηθούμε αν η φυσική ομορφιά ωφελεί ή βλάπτει!
Συνανάγνωση με την υπέροχη Αθηνά
ΥΓ. Αν και "Ανοιξιάτικα" τα νερά, η ιστορία διαδραματίζεται Καλοκαίρι.
July 11, 2020
I enjoyed this for its character portrayal much more than for the plot line. In the second half of the story, there is a piquant twist that does add some intrigue. The characters are amusing and the swipes at different cultural tendencies are fun.
The main character is telling the story. He is Russian, fifty-two years old and looking back thirty years when he had fallen in love with an Italian woman in Frankfurt. The year was 1840. Except, he then became head-over-heels infatuated with a Russian woman. The question is who will he marry, if any?!
The writing is descriptive. A sky, moonless, but with sparkling yellow, white, red and blue stars. Have you never seen such a sky? Think carefully, of course you have! Turgenev captures the feel of infatuation wonderfully. One character is phlegmatic. He is married to a woman who is flirtatious, exuberant and boundlessly free. They make a bet.
In that the Russian is looking back and remembering and telling us what happened, large portions are told. This is a drawback.
There is humor, of the satirical sort. There are snide remarks about German food and regimental behavior. French language and gastronomy are on the other hand characterized as being sophisticated. Italians are emotional, frivolous. One chuckles at the cultural innuendoes.
The audiobook is very well narrated by Neville Jason. He does dramatize, which I don't usually like. Yet he so well captures the characters' personalities that listening is like going to ta theater performance. It’s just plain fun!
The main character is telling the story. He is Russian, fifty-two years old and looking back thirty years when he had fallen in love with an Italian woman in Frankfurt. The year was 1840. Except, he then became head-over-heels infatuated with a Russian woman. The question is who will he marry, if any?!
The writing is descriptive. A sky, moonless, but with sparkling yellow, white, red and blue stars. Have you never seen such a sky? Think carefully, of course you have! Turgenev captures the feel of infatuation wonderfully. One character is phlegmatic. He is married to a woman who is flirtatious, exuberant and boundlessly free. They make a bet.
In that the Russian is looking back and remembering and telling us what happened, large portions are told. This is a drawback.
There is humor, of the satirical sort. There are snide remarks about German food and regimental behavior. French language and gastronomy are on the other hand characterized as being sophisticated. Italians are emotional, frivolous. One chuckles at the cultural innuendoes.
The audiobook is very well narrated by Neville Jason. He does dramatize, which I don't usually like. Yet he so well captures the characters' personalities that listening is like going to ta theater performance. It’s just plain fun!
August 12, 2018
The Torrents of Spring by Ivan Turganev was written in 1870 but thought to be a highly autobiographical rendition of events that occurred in his life in 1840. it is considered to be one of his greatest novels. It is the first for me.
The hero of this book is named Dmitri Savin. On a trip to Frankfurt Germany, he meets and falls in love with a beautiful young lady, Gemma. He proposes and when questioned by her mother about finances, promises to sell his estate in Petersburg to raise the proper funds. A friend's wife is purported to show an interest, so he meets with her to discuss the sale.
I have read 11 books considered classics this year and the ones written in the 19th Century continue to amaze me. I am a true lover of contemporary fiction, but am developing a love for the classics as well. They are written using lovely phrasing and language and the plots are creative. Certainly liked this book and have another Turgenev planned: First Love.
4 stars
The hero of this book is named Dmitri Savin. On a trip to Frankfurt Germany, he meets and falls in love with a beautiful young lady, Gemma. He proposes and when questioned by her mother about finances, promises to sell his estate in Petersburg to raise the proper funds. A friend's wife is purported to show an interest, so he meets with her to discuss the sale.
I have read 11 books considered classics this year and the ones written in the 19th Century continue to amaze me. I am a true lover of contemporary fiction, but am developing a love for the classics as well. They are written using lovely phrasing and language and the plots are creative. Certainly liked this book and have another Turgenev planned: First Love.
4 stars
December 20, 2020
Ηταν στα αδιάβαστα μου και δεν είχα έως τώρα διαβάσει κανένα βιβλίο του. Η ζωή του συγγραφέα έχει πολλά όμοια στοιχεία με την ιστορία του εξελίσσεται στο βιβλίο. Η ιστορία είναι υπέροχη. Επίσης, μου άρεσε πολύ το επίμετρο στο τέλος του βιβλίου. Υπάρχει μια αναλυτική προσέγγιση στο έργο του, στους ήρωες του ακόμη και οι επιρροές του όπως τον Σοπενχάουερ. Υπάρχει μια αναφορά του Μωπασσάν όταν τον συνάντησε πρώτη φορά στο σπίτι του Φλωμπέρ που τον περιγράφει με τον δικό του τρόπο... Σίγουρα θα διαβάσω και άλλα βιβλία του.
September 8, 2018
Așa cum presimțeam înainte să mă apuc de citit romanul, subiectul său e dat de o temă nu predilectă, ci definitorie (aproape totală) în opera lui Turgheniev: resemnarea în față iubirii pierdute a tinereții.
De Turgheniev am dat când am citit Un cuib de nobili, din colecția Adevărul, undeva prin 2015. Mi-a plăcut foarte mult romanul. Am reținut de acolo replici și versuri fără să depun vreun efort în acest sens, atât de frumos "ungeau".
Deși Apele primăverii tratează aceeași tema -poate într-o manieră mai europeană decât Un cuib de nobili- nu m-a impresionat la fel de mult. Fi-va vorba de spiritul rus (la el acasă într-Un cuib de nobili și eclipsat aici) sau, deopotrivă, de ce să n-o recunosc?, poate am devenit eu prea cinic și sceptic în ceea ce privește coordonatele temei definitorii din opera lui Turgheniev. Totuși, citindu-l, ceva mă gâdilă și îmi da curaj. To the happy few!
De Turgheniev am dat când am citit Un cuib de nobili, din colecția Adevărul, undeva prin 2015. Mi-a plăcut foarte mult romanul. Am reținut de acolo replici și versuri fără să depun vreun efort în acest sens, atât de frumos "ungeau".
Deși Apele primăverii tratează aceeași tema -poate într-o manieră mai europeană decât Un cuib de nobili- nu m-a impresionat la fel de mult. Fi-va vorba de spiritul rus (la el acasă într-Un cuib de nobili și eclipsat aici) sau, deopotrivă, de ce să n-o recunosc?, poate am devenit eu prea cinic și sceptic în ceea ce privește coordonatele temei definitorii din opera lui Turgheniev. Totuși, citindu-l, ceva mă gâdilă și îmi da curaj. To the happy few!
April 19, 2015
In honor of the season I have read a book I have heard much of over the years, one I have wanted to read for a long time: Torrents of Spring by Ivan Turgenev, published in 1872 when Turgenev was 53 or 54. His age is important because this novelette is largely autobiographical and the hero, when we first meet him, is 52. Although the subject is first love, this is an especially rewarding book for those who are middle-aged, especially those living with regrets and perhaps feeling discouraged and burnt out. It is the story of a memory of lost youth and first love but it is also about redemption, coming to terms with the past, and finding peace, or at least, finding a way to keep fighting another day for your life’s meaning.
As the novel begins we meet our protagonist, Dimitri Pavlovich Sanin, a Russian landowner, who is suffering a case of insomnia after attending some fancy upper-crust social event. We get the impression there is nothing outwardly wrong with his life: he is not ill, is financially secure, has a social life, and lives in a nice home. But his spirit is in ashes: he is empty, embittered by the nonsense of humanity, and haunted by the fear of impending old age and the lurking abyss of death. In this tortured state of mind, Dimitri imagines an allegory for the state of his existence:
“He himself sets in a little tottering boat, and down below in those dark oozy depths, like prodigious fishes, he can just make out the shapes of hideous monsters; all the ills of life, diseases, sorrows, madness, poverty, blindness…. He gazes, and behold, one of these monsters separates itself off from the darkness, rises higher and higher, stands out more and more distinct, more and more loathsomely distinct…. An instant yet, and the boat that bears him will be overturned! But behold, it grows dim again, it withdraws, it sinks down to the bottom, and there it lies, faintly stirring in the slime…. But the fated day will come, and it will overturn the boat.”
Such are the thoughts passing through this man's mind at 2:00 am. We see that he is going to need some serious psychological intervention to get to a better place. In this depressed state he rummages listlessly through drawers full of papers and discovers an small old-fashioned box. Opening it, he finds a cross set with garnets and the object transports him to a time in life 30 years in the past, when he was 22….
Of course as always when I read Russian literature I so wish I could read Russian. The original title of this novelette is Veshnie Vody – or Вешние воды. However my 1897 translation by Constance Garnett is lovely: simple, direct, and lyrical. The main characters: Dimitri and all the members of the Roselli family are so genuine, warm, and sincere, that I not only feel I know them intimately, but I want to hang around their kitchen table drinking chocolaté and playing board games. In Dimitri’s memory it is 1840 and he has just arrived in Frankfort from Italy, ending a European tour. He has a few hours to kill before his coach leaves for Petersburg where he plans to begin his working life in some government post.
But his plans are suddenly altered when he wanders into a random confectioner’s shop and meets Gemma, a beautiful 19-year-old girl who, at the moment, is in a panic. Running into to the shop from a back room, she begs the young stranger to come save her brother. Emil Roselli, age 14,has fainted and no one can get him to wake up. Dimitri has no medical experience but he quickly loosens the boy’s clothing, calls for some hair brushes, and begins brushing his body. I take it that brushing was a technique used at that time in such cases. Anyway, miraculously enough, it worked. The boy opens his eyes and wakes up. Gemma, her mother, and their loyal family friend, Pantaleone, a retired opera singer, are so grateful they insist that Dimitri stay for dinner. He becomes so absorbed in the stories, the games, and the discussion, that he misses his ride back to Peterburg and decides to hang out in Frankfort a few more days. Although he does yet fully realize it, he has already fallen in love with Gemma and she with him.
There are complications of course. Gemma is already betrothed to a stiff arrogant bore of a merchant named Karl Klüber. Once Dimitri recognizes the magical feeling he is experiencing for what it is and he and Gemma acknowledge their love, Gemma’s mother becomes an obstacle because, as a widow, she sees Herr Klüber as the family’s financial salvation. But as the kinks are worked out, Dimitri becomes the betrothed and is accepted by all. It seems like this sweet love story is going to work out happily for everyone...except we know it isn't. The suspense is in finding out what could have gone wrong to mess up something so good and so beautiful?
What does happen is so senseless, so ridiculous, so stupid, so typically human. But I don’t want to spoil the story so let’s just say Dimitri gets swept up into some torrents of spring. Does this trip down memory lane help the middle-aged Dimitri emerge from his funk? Sort of. No one can change the past, but you can make an effort to make peace with it, and there are sometimes things you can do to actually transform it.
The Torrents of Spring is deliriously happy, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful: a genuine life story to which many of us can relate. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets old….but you’ll have to read the book to find out what else.
As the novel begins we meet our protagonist, Dimitri Pavlovich Sanin, a Russian landowner, who is suffering a case of insomnia after attending some fancy upper-crust social event. We get the impression there is nothing outwardly wrong with his life: he is not ill, is financially secure, has a social life, and lives in a nice home. But his spirit is in ashes: he is empty, embittered by the nonsense of humanity, and haunted by the fear of impending old age and the lurking abyss of death. In this tortured state of mind, Dimitri imagines an allegory for the state of his existence:
“He himself sets in a little tottering boat, and down below in those dark oozy depths, like prodigious fishes, he can just make out the shapes of hideous monsters; all the ills of life, diseases, sorrows, madness, poverty, blindness…. He gazes, and behold, one of these monsters separates itself off from the darkness, rises higher and higher, stands out more and more distinct, more and more loathsomely distinct…. An instant yet, and the boat that bears him will be overturned! But behold, it grows dim again, it withdraws, it sinks down to the bottom, and there it lies, faintly stirring in the slime…. But the fated day will come, and it will overturn the boat.”
Such are the thoughts passing through this man's mind at 2:00 am. We see that he is going to need some serious psychological intervention to get to a better place. In this depressed state he rummages listlessly through drawers full of papers and discovers an small old-fashioned box. Opening it, he finds a cross set with garnets and the object transports him to a time in life 30 years in the past, when he was 22….
Of course as always when I read Russian literature I so wish I could read Russian. The original title of this novelette is Veshnie Vody – or Вешние воды. However my 1897 translation by Constance Garnett is lovely: simple, direct, and lyrical. The main characters: Dimitri and all the members of the Roselli family are so genuine, warm, and sincere, that I not only feel I know them intimately, but I want to hang around their kitchen table drinking chocolaté and playing board games. In Dimitri’s memory it is 1840 and he has just arrived in Frankfort from Italy, ending a European tour. He has a few hours to kill before his coach leaves for Petersburg where he plans to begin his working life in some government post.
But his plans are suddenly altered when he wanders into a random confectioner’s shop and meets Gemma, a beautiful 19-year-old girl who, at the moment, is in a panic. Running into to the shop from a back room, she begs the young stranger to come save her brother. Emil Roselli, age 14,has fainted and no one can get him to wake up. Dimitri has no medical experience but he quickly loosens the boy’s clothing, calls for some hair brushes, and begins brushing his body. I take it that brushing was a technique used at that time in such cases. Anyway, miraculously enough, it worked. The boy opens his eyes and wakes up. Gemma, her mother, and their loyal family friend, Pantaleone, a retired opera singer, are so grateful they insist that Dimitri stay for dinner. He becomes so absorbed in the stories, the games, and the discussion, that he misses his ride back to Peterburg and decides to hang out in Frankfort a few more days. Although he does yet fully realize it, he has already fallen in love with Gemma and she with him.
There are complications of course. Gemma is already betrothed to a stiff arrogant bore of a merchant named Karl Klüber. Once Dimitri recognizes the magical feeling he is experiencing for what it is and he and Gemma acknowledge their love, Gemma’s mother becomes an obstacle because, as a widow, she sees Herr Klüber as the family’s financial salvation. But as the kinks are worked out, Dimitri becomes the betrothed and is accepted by all. It seems like this sweet love story is going to work out happily for everyone...except we know it isn't. The suspense is in finding out what could have gone wrong to mess up something so good and so beautiful?
What does happen is so senseless, so ridiculous, so stupid, so typically human. But I don’t want to spoil the story so let’s just say Dimitri gets swept up into some torrents of spring. Does this trip down memory lane help the middle-aged Dimitri emerge from his funk? Sort of. No one can change the past, but you can make an effort to make peace with it, and there are sometimes things you can do to actually transform it.
The Torrents of Spring is deliriously happy, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful: a genuine life story to which many of us can relate. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets old….but you’ll have to read the book to find out what else.
May 7, 2024
Acque di primavera venne pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1872 ed è una delle ultime opere scritte da Ivan Turgenev.
Il romanzo si apre con un antefatto. Siamo nel 1870 e incontriamo Dimitrij Sanin un uomo di mezza età vuoto e amareggiato che, rientrato a casa dopo una serata in società e complice l'insonnia, si mette a frugare senza nessun motivo tra le carte conservate nel suo studio. Mentre fa questo si imbatte in una piccola scatolina il cui interno cela una piccola croce tempestata di granati. Questa croce rammenta a Sanin una vicenda accadutagli trent'anni prima e che ha influenzato tutta la sua vita.
Facciamo un salto indietro nel tempo e ci troviamo nel 1840, Dimitrij Sanin, è un giovane proprietario terriero russo di ritorno da un viaggio in Italia. Nel suo viaggio fa tappa obbligata a Francoforte in Germania. Per ammazzare il tempo d'attesa che manca prima della partenza della diligenza per San Pietroburgo, Sanin decide di concedersi una passeggiata per le vie adiacenti al suo albergo. Durante la passeggiata entra in una pasticceria italiana, qui viene subito trascinato nella stanza sul retro del negozio da una giovane ragazza tutta trafelata, che lo implora di aiutarla a far rinvenire il giovane fratello svenuto sul divano. Sanin riesce a salvarlo e la famiglia Roselli per sdebitarsi lo invita a cena; il giovane russo è stregato da questa famiglia ma soprattutto dall'affascinante figlia, Gemma, che però è fidanzata con un certo Karl Klüber, direttore di un negozio di abbigliamento.
Romanzo dal titolo allegorico che rispecchia benissimo il significato della storia narrata (la parola acque ha il significato di impetuosità e con la parola primavera si intende invece la giovinezza, quindi il titolo ha il significato dell'impetuosità della giovinezza), racconta una vicenda, come detto più volte dallo stesso scrittore russo, fortemente autobiografica vissuta da Turgenev in prima persona; una storia d'amore tramutatasi in una vicenda di tradimento, di vita sprecata e di occasioni perse.
Come sempre nelle opere di Turgenev i protagonisti sono i cosiddetti “uomini superflui” cioè gli idealisti appassionati, eloquenti ma privi di volontà, incapaci di agire e di scegliere; uomini deboli e incerti, che sbagliano e si pentono troppo tardi delle loro scelte o solo quando queste di rivelano sbagliate. Uno di questi uomini è il protagonista Dimitrij Sanin, un giovane dolce, gentile, disponibile, spontaneo e amichevole, ma purtroppo pure molto ingenuo soprattutto quando si lascia ammaliare da Maria Nikolaevna, una “femme fatale” capricciosa, scaltra, cinica e calcolatrice, che pensa solo al proprio piacere personale e gioca con il cuore degli uomini. La sua entrata improvvisa sulla scena trasforma il romanzo; se prima il tono era allegro, spensierato, e anche divertente, dopo la sua comparsa il tono del romanzo diviene oscuro e piuttosto sinistro.
Se all'inizio e per buona parte del romanzo il lettore non può non parteggiare per Sanin, procedendo nella lettura ha nei suoi confronti un sentimento di tristezza e soprattutto di rabbia per il suo insensato e stupido comportamento.
Acque di primavera è quindi una storia capace di suscitare nell'animo del lettore vari sentimenti, quali gioia, emozione, ira, compassione e tristezza.
Dalla trama scarna e abbastanza semplice è, come le altre opere dello scrittore russo, un romanzo permeato da un velo di malinconia, nostalgia, rimpianto e tristezza; questa vicenda in particolare racconta una storia d'amore, di gioia, di tradimento, di rimpianto, di amarezza.
Acque di primavera è un romanzo scorrevole, ben scritto, ricco di eventi e di momenti descrittivi, con un buono sviluppo dei personaggi, dalla prosa semplice, dalla scrittura magnifica, narrato con uno stile limpido, elegante e raffinato come sempre è lo stile di Turgenev; un'opera al cui interno troviamo riflessioni sulla natura umana, sulle differenze culturali e sulle diverse classi sociali, ma anche diversi temi quali la perdita dell'innocenza, la passione, l'ossessione, il potere della memoria, la stupidità umana, le follie della giovinezza, il senso di perdita e di rimpianto che possono influenzare una vita intera.
Gli uomini deboli non danno mai fine a niente, ma ne aspettano sempre la conclusione.
Il romanzo si apre con un antefatto. Siamo nel 1870 e incontriamo Dimitrij Sanin un uomo di mezza età vuoto e amareggiato che, rientrato a casa dopo una serata in società e complice l'insonnia, si mette a frugare senza nessun motivo tra le carte conservate nel suo studio. Mentre fa questo si imbatte in una piccola scatolina il cui interno cela una piccola croce tempestata di granati. Questa croce rammenta a Sanin una vicenda accadutagli trent'anni prima e che ha influenzato tutta la sua vita.
Facciamo un salto indietro nel tempo e ci troviamo nel 1840, Dimitrij Sanin, è un giovane proprietario terriero russo di ritorno da un viaggio in Italia. Nel suo viaggio fa tappa obbligata a Francoforte in Germania. Per ammazzare il tempo d'attesa che manca prima della partenza della diligenza per San Pietroburgo, Sanin decide di concedersi una passeggiata per le vie adiacenti al suo albergo. Durante la passeggiata entra in una pasticceria italiana, qui viene subito trascinato nella stanza sul retro del negozio da una giovane ragazza tutta trafelata, che lo implora di aiutarla a far rinvenire il giovane fratello svenuto sul divano. Sanin riesce a salvarlo e la famiglia Roselli per sdebitarsi lo invita a cena; il giovane russo è stregato da questa famiglia ma soprattutto dall'affascinante figlia, Gemma, che però è fidanzata con un certo Karl Klüber, direttore di un negozio di abbigliamento.
Romanzo dal titolo allegorico che rispecchia benissimo il significato della storia narrata (la parola acque ha il significato di impetuosità e con la parola primavera si intende invece la giovinezza, quindi il titolo ha il significato dell'impetuosità della giovinezza), racconta una vicenda, come detto più volte dallo stesso scrittore russo, fortemente autobiografica vissuta da Turgenev in prima persona; una storia d'amore tramutatasi in una vicenda di tradimento, di vita sprecata e di occasioni perse.
Come sempre nelle opere di Turgenev i protagonisti sono i cosiddetti “uomini superflui” cioè gli idealisti appassionati, eloquenti ma privi di volontà, incapaci di agire e di scegliere; uomini deboli e incerti, che sbagliano e si pentono troppo tardi delle loro scelte o solo quando queste di rivelano sbagliate. Uno di questi uomini è il protagonista Dimitrij Sanin, un giovane dolce, gentile, disponibile, spontaneo e amichevole, ma purtroppo pure molto ingenuo soprattutto quando si lascia ammaliare da Maria Nikolaevna, una “femme fatale” capricciosa, scaltra, cinica e calcolatrice, che pensa solo al proprio piacere personale e gioca con il cuore degli uomini. La sua entrata improvvisa sulla scena trasforma il romanzo; se prima il tono era allegro, spensierato, e anche divertente, dopo la sua comparsa il tono del romanzo diviene oscuro e piuttosto sinistro.
Se all'inizio e per buona parte del romanzo il lettore non può non parteggiare per Sanin, procedendo nella lettura ha nei suoi confronti un sentimento di tristezza e soprattutto di rabbia per il suo insensato e stupido comportamento.
Acque di primavera è quindi una storia capace di suscitare nell'animo del lettore vari sentimenti, quali gioia, emozione, ira, compassione e tristezza.
Dalla trama scarna e abbastanza semplice è, come le altre opere dello scrittore russo, un romanzo permeato da un velo di malinconia, nostalgia, rimpianto e tristezza; questa vicenda in particolare racconta una storia d'amore, di gioia, di tradimento, di rimpianto, di amarezza.
Acque di primavera è un romanzo scorrevole, ben scritto, ricco di eventi e di momenti descrittivi, con un buono sviluppo dei personaggi, dalla prosa semplice, dalla scrittura magnifica, narrato con uno stile limpido, elegante e raffinato come sempre è lo stile di Turgenev; un'opera al cui interno troviamo riflessioni sulla natura umana, sulle differenze culturali e sulle diverse classi sociali, ma anche diversi temi quali la perdita dell'innocenza, la passione, l'ossessione, il potere della memoria, la stupidità umana, le follie della giovinezza, il senso di perdita e di rimpianto che possono influenzare una vita intera.
Gli uomini deboli non danno mai fine a niente, ma ne aspettano sempre la conclusione.
June 2, 2023
3.5/5
December 3, 2012
After reading this wonderful piece of classic work, I came up with two wishes. First, I wished I could read the book in its original language. Second, I wish I had read Turgenev’s works before. The first one would only remain that – a wish. The English translation of the eBook I read is wonderful, but I after reading it and pondering the ending I wondered how it must all be in Russian. The narrative flows so simply and yet so intimately of its protagonist, Sanin, that I craved for what could have been lost in translation. But I know no Russian at all, and so I must settle for what I could have.
The second wish, however, is redeemable. This is my first Turgenev and it wouldn’t be the last. The Torrents of Spring begins with a passage from an Old Ballad that portends a tale that would end sadly, if not tragically. Still, in spite of the foreshadowing, I didn’t expect it to end as it did. Told as a recollection, the narrative tells the story of Sanin who, on his way home from his travels, meets Gemma whom he falls in love with. The love comes at a price, not only to him but to Gemma as well, but they get through the hardships and become engaged. In the process of proving himself true, however, Sanin fails and abandons Gemma just a few weeks after pledging his love for her. He willingly gives up all that love and promise of a happy life for another woman who has no love for him at all and who discards him just as quickly and easily as he did Gemma. And what follows next is many years of loneliness and solitude, for what could have been and will never be. For a moment of weakness he is made to pay thirty years of shame and regret. The ending is quite touching, moving. I just felt sad, and angry, for Sanin when he discovers what ultimately happens to Gemma.
The second wish, however, is redeemable. This is my first Turgenev and it wouldn’t be the last. The Torrents of Spring begins with a passage from an Old Ballad that portends a tale that would end sadly, if not tragically. Still, in spite of the foreshadowing, I didn’t expect it to end as it did. Told as a recollection, the narrative tells the story of Sanin who, on his way home from his travels, meets Gemma whom he falls in love with. The love comes at a price, not only to him but to Gemma as well, but they get through the hardships and become engaged. In the process of proving himself true, however, Sanin fails and abandons Gemma just a few weeks after pledging his love for her. He willingly gives up all that love and promise of a happy life for another woman who has no love for him at all and who discards him just as quickly and easily as he did Gemma. And what follows next is many years of loneliness and solitude, for what could have been and will never be. For a moment of weakness he is made to pay thirty years of shame and regret. The ending is quite touching, moving. I just felt sad, and angry, for Sanin when he discovers what ultimately happens to Gemma.
March 18, 2020
رواية كلاسيكية هادئة في حكايتها، صاخبة فيما وارء حكايتها.
January 1, 2017
Mladej Rus dojede do Německa a tam zkejsne, páč mu další drožka jede až za pár dní. Tento pocit znám, letos jsem totiž na letišti ve Frankfurtu strávil celej den a kdyby mi letadlo letělo ještě o pár hodin později, asi bych si musel vzít na další preclík za 12 000 euro pravděpodobně kontokorent. Každopádně Rus vleze do cukrárny, tam mladá italka a bum - láska jak parmezán! Když zjistí, že Špagetka má nějakýho bohatýho germánskýho snoubence tak se Rus trochu rozesmutní, ale to by nebyl Rus, aby to všechno nedoprcal tím stylem, že Němec skončí s ostudou a Rus se Špagetkou, který slíbí, že prodá panství a za ty peníze ji udělá svatbu, kde bude pizza pro všechny. Komunismus vs kapitalismus 1:0. Co čert nechtěl, aby Rus prodal panství tak musí jet do jinýho města, kde je manželka jeho kámoše, bohatá a rozmazlená byznysmanka, která mu nadělá pořádný trumpoty. Možná i proto přestane hlavní hrdina používat mozek a vsadí na osvědčenou cestu do průseru - penis. Inu, tak už to u nás v gatích chodí. Závěr tedy šokující jak blázen, prozrazující o mužích daleko víc než 1000 příruček. Za mě palec nahoru a penis dolu.
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May 2, 2021By a complete coincidence I was reading The Aeneid and this book simultaneously, and reached the point where Dido and Aeneas are out in the storm in the woods only an hour after Maria Nikolaevna Polozova had whispered 'Aeneas' to Sanin during a storm in the woods near Wiesbaden in Spring Torrents. Disastrous events ensue in both cases.
Lust and ruthless egotism versus the moral imperative. This is a really masterful portrayal of how one's highest, most romantic principles can be undermined so quickly by one's human cravings. It is a reflection, I think, on how shallow, and fragile, an impulsive gesture may turn out to be--Sanin's commitment to Gemma after only a few days' acquaintance-- in comparison to a slowly developed commitment would be. Turgenev's depiction of Sanin's youthful innocence entangled in the self-indulgent, worldly competition between the seductive, clever Maria Nikolaevna and her 'dumpling' husband is really amazing. You can see the web being woven before your eyes, in fact Sanin sees it being woven, but he is mesmerized and can't resist landing on it. Recommended.
Lust and ruthless egotism versus the moral imperative. This is a really masterful portrayal of how one's highest, most romantic principles can be undermined so quickly by one's human cravings. It is a reflection, I think, on how shallow, and fragile, an impulsive gesture may turn out to be--Sanin's commitment to Gemma after only a few days' acquaintance-- in comparison to a slowly developed commitment would be. Turgenev's depiction of Sanin's youthful innocence entangled in the self-indulgent, worldly competition between the seductive, clever Maria Nikolaevna and her 'dumpling' husband is really amazing. You can see the web being woven before your eyes, in fact Sanin sees it being woven, but he is mesmerized and can't resist landing on it. Recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2024
I am so in love with this man’s prose. The two books I’ve read by him so far (the other being “First Love”) have both been filled with so much beauty and nostalgia. Through memories this book beautifully explores first love and its innocence, love in comparison to lust as well as regret. There’s such a nostalgic sadness to Turgenev’s books while simultaneously being so hopeful
April 7, 2023
Os grandes mestres da literatura russa são (também) os meus mestres. A minha atenção foi cativada por Dostoiévski há muitos anos e devo-lhe a ele (e a Eça de Queiroz — se bem que Vergílio Ferreira, na altura, desempenhou um papel igualmente importante na minha vida) a paixão imensa que tenho por ler e por livros. A escrita de Ivan Turguénev faz-me sentir em casa, faz-me sentir num território que conheço bem e onde me movo confortavelmente; porém, ao contrário de Dostoiévski, diria que a sua escrita é menos densa — e há intensidade, impetuosidade e efervescência na sua escrita, bem como um respeito pelas personagens e pelas suas interioridades... mas o modo como tudo isso se materializa é algo eflúvio. Nada disto é negativo, há espaço para todos os autores e para todos os gostos: ler novamente Turguénev deu-me imenso prazer, "Águas da Primavera" é um livro lindíssimo, acessível e rápido de ler. Sei que as suas personagens não me tocaram profundamente, mas sei também que durante muito tempo irá perdurar a sensação que nasceu ao fechar este livro: não sei como é que um autor consegue, em cinco páginas, escrever um final tão harmonioso, doce e emocionalmente reconfortante. Comoveu-me ao ponto de me fazer chorar num espaço público, e eram lágrimas nascidas de uma fonte pura, a fonte onde habitam os sentimentos mais auspiciosos que tenho.
March 31, 2009
This is not going to be much of a review. I enjoyed the novella, but I didn't love it.
While reading The Torrents of Spring, I kept comparing Turgenev's Sanin to Dostoevsky's Raskolnikov. I'm not sure if it's because I haven't read much Russian literature, so what I do read, I compare to the few other Russian novels I've read. It could also be because Turgenev referenced Dostoevsky in his letters to Flaubert, so I may have had him on the brain. I'm sure that didn't have anything to do with my lack of love for the novella, though.
Sanin was kind of this macho type of guy, while Raskolnikov was a more sensitive, intellectual type. Raskolnikov thought about doing things; Sanin just did them. For instance, Sanin fought a duel for a young woman who was engaged to someone else because her fiancee didn't step up after she was "insulted" by some military officers. He owned land and serfs; Rasky was without an income.
(And yes, I do realize Raskolnikov acted on things, but he thought about them endlessly before and after.)
**Spoiler Alert**
As a consequence of the duel, Sanin won the love of Gemma, but then threw it away for hot sex with someone else. It was difficult to feel much of anything when he did it because the character of Gemma wasn't written with much depth. In fact, the most interesting character in the novel was the woman with which Sanin had the affair. She was, as "they" say, a pistol.
Even though I liked his letters more than I liked this novella, I don't think this experience will stop me from reading more Turgenev. Knowing he suffered from chronic gout made me laugh when I found this passage amid a novel about love found, love lost, and heartbreak:
Who does not know what a German dinner is like? Watery soup with knobby dumplings and pieces of cinnamon, boiled beef dry as cork, with white fat attached, slimy potatoes, soft beetroot and mashed horseradish, a bluish eel with French capers and vinegar, a roast joint with jam, and the inevitable 'Mehlspeise,' something of the nature of a pudding with sourish red sauce; but to make up, the beer and wine first-rate!
Yum yum.
While reading The Torrents of Spring, I kept comparing Turgenev's Sanin to Dostoevsky's Raskolnikov. I'm not sure if it's because I haven't read much Russian literature, so what I do read, I compare to the few other Russian novels I've read. It could also be because Turgenev referenced Dostoevsky in his letters to Flaubert, so I may have had him on the brain. I'm sure that didn't have anything to do with my lack of love for the novella, though.
Sanin was kind of this macho type of guy, while Raskolnikov was a more sensitive, intellectual type. Raskolnikov thought about doing things; Sanin just did them. For instance, Sanin fought a duel for a young woman who was engaged to someone else because her fiancee didn't step up after she was "insulted" by some military officers. He owned land and serfs; Rasky was without an income.
(And yes, I do realize Raskolnikov acted on things, but he thought about them endlessly before and after.)
**Spoiler Alert**
As a consequence of the duel, Sanin won the love of Gemma, but then threw it away for hot sex with someone else. It was difficult to feel much of anything when he did it because the character of Gemma wasn't written with much depth. In fact, the most interesting character in the novel was the woman with which Sanin had the affair. She was, as "they" say, a pistol.
Even though I liked his letters more than I liked this novella, I don't think this experience will stop me from reading more Turgenev. Knowing he suffered from chronic gout made me laugh when I found this passage amid a novel about love found, love lost, and heartbreak:
Who does not know what a German dinner is like? Watery soup with knobby dumplings and pieces of cinnamon, boiled beef dry as cork, with white fat attached, slimy potatoes, soft beetroot and mashed horseradish, a bluish eel with French capers and vinegar, a roast joint with jam, and the inevitable 'Mehlspeise,' something of the nature of a pudding with sourish red sauce; but to make up, the beer and wine first-rate!
Yum yum.
May 9, 2017
My first Turgenev and unfortunately it wasn't a good one. It had nearly a full hand of 'things I don't like but which seem very common in Russian Literature'. Namely:
* Unpleasant and unsympathetic characters
* Passionate and stupid men
* Charming women who aren't
* Unrealistic situations
* Over the Top emotions which I don't believe in
It did however skip the nearly obligatory exposition on philosophy/social theory/economics. Points for that anyway.
For the rest it was, as the 1001 book blurb points out, rather a theatrical performance, fairly predictable and even absurd. I don't always mind a theatrical performance if the players can carry it off - in this case, no, they couldn't.
I was rolling my eyes with the whole evil seductress routine but it was really Anyway, this was all laid out for us right from the very beginning so it wasn't exactly a shock but still, I would have been happy to have had a few small surprises thrown in.
Oh well, can't like 'em all.
* Unpleasant and unsympathetic characters
* Passionate and stupid men
* Charming women who aren't
* Unrealistic situations
* Over the Top emotions which I don't believe in
It did however skip the nearly obligatory exposition on philosophy/social theory/economics. Points for that anyway.
For the rest it was, as the 1001 book blurb points out, rather a theatrical performance, fairly predictable and even absurd. I don't always mind a theatrical performance if the players can carry it off - in this case, no, they couldn't.
I was rolling my eyes with the whole evil seductress routine but it was really Anyway, this was all laid out for us right from the very beginning so it wasn't exactly a shock but still, I would have been happy to have had a few small surprises thrown in.
Oh well, can't like 'em all.
October 2, 2025
ENGLISH: A poignant story of chivalry, love, temptation, seduction and regret. I liked most the first part and the conclusion, least the second part, where I had to slow my reading.
Since the prologue, I was afraid that this love story would have a sad end. It was also to be expected from Turgenev's other novels. "First love," for instance, is a sad love story, but at least the main character is a teenager in love with an older woman, so the sad end was to be expected.
ESPAÑOL: Una conmovedora historia de caballerosidad, amor, tentación, seducción y arrepentimiento. Me gustó más la primera parte y la conclusión, pero menos la segunda, que tuve que leer más despacio.
Desde el prólogo, temía que esta historia de amor tuviera un final triste. Era de esperar, por las otras novelas de Turguéniev. "Primer amor", por ejemplo, es una historia de amor triste, pero al menos el protagonista es un adolescente enamorado de una mujer mayor, así que el final triste era previsible.
Since the prologue, I was afraid that this love story would have a sad end. It was also to be expected from Turgenev's other novels. "First love," for instance, is a sad love story, but at least the main character is a teenager in love with an older woman, so the sad end was to be expected.
ESPAÑOL: Una conmovedora historia de caballerosidad, amor, tentación, seducción y arrepentimiento. Me gustó más la primera parte y la conclusión, pero menos la segunda, que tuve que leer más despacio.
Desde el prólogo, temía que esta historia de amor tuviera un final triste. Era de esperar, por las otras novelas de Turguéniev. "Primer amor", por ejemplo, es una historia de amor triste, pero al menos el protagonista es un adolescente enamorado de una mujer mayor, así que el final triste era previsible.
February 22, 2017
" Vesele godine,
Srećni dani -
K'o prolećne vode
Prohujaše oni."
I ovo je najtužnije što je napisano u knjizi , a nije čak ni napisao Turgenjev ,nego je citat neke ruske romanse na početku knjige. Ko bi rekao da je Turgenjev Rus , nigde nema tuge , sve je lagano, prozračno i lepršavo ( da ne kažem pozitivno). Čak o kada se desi nešto loše nema nikakvog patosa. Ali to sve nije bitno , jer je sve toliko lepo i dobro napisano da mi je prijalo da je čitam.
Srećni dani -
K'o prolećne vode
Prohujaše oni."
I ovo je najtužnije što je napisano u knjizi , a nije čak ni napisao Turgenjev ,nego je citat neke ruske romanse na početku knjige. Ko bi rekao da je Turgenjev Rus , nigde nema tuge , sve je lagano, prozračno i lepršavo ( da ne kažem pozitivno). Čak o kada se desi nešto loše nema nikakvog patosa. Ali to sve nije bitno , jer je sve toliko lepo i dobro napisano da mi je prijalo da je čitam.
May 17, 2022
"كان قلبه يخفق خفقانًا واهنًا، كجناح فراشة تعلقت بزهرة في ضياء صيف"
رواية ربيعية هادئة تطوف فيها ذكريات ربيع ألماني في حياة شاب روسي نبيل هو سانين قابل فيه جيما الفتاة الإيطالية ابنة صاحب محل الحلوى، الجوهرة النقية التي عرف معها الحب الرقيق النبيل الطاهر، حتى التقى بصديق طفولته الذي عرّفه على زوجته النبيلة الروسية بعد أن وعده أنها ستشتري منه أرضه في روسيا ليتم زواجه بخطيبته جيما،
وما إن قابلها ليتفق معها حتى انهمرت سيول الربيع التي جرفته معها إلى طريق الذل بعيدًا عن حبه النبيل الطاهر جيما،
فعاد بعد سنوات طويلة يبحث عنها ويكتب إليها رسالة يطلب منها الصفح عن الماضي الذي كان يتمنى فيه لو يعيش حياته كلها يبيع الحلوى وشراب اللوز، بينما تنفذ شمس الصيف من خلال أوراق الأشجار الكثيفة ويدندن النحل بينها،
الماضي الذي تركها فيه في ربيع مزهر بالزهور الذهبية في أشجار حديقتها الصغيرة، وتركه في خريف دائم، نادمًا على حب كان يعده بربيع أبدي
أحببتها 💛
17.5.2022
رواية ربيعية هادئة تطوف فيها ذكريات ربيع ألماني في حياة شاب روسي نبيل هو سانين قابل فيه جيما الفتاة الإيطالية ابنة صاحب محل الحلوى، الجوهرة النقية التي عرف معها الحب الرقيق النبيل الطاهر، حتى التقى بصديق طفولته الذي عرّفه على زوجته النبيلة الروسية بعد أن وعده أنها ستشتري منه أرضه في روسيا ليتم زواجه بخطيبته جيما،
وما إن قابلها ليتفق معها حتى انهمرت سيول الربيع التي جرفته معها إلى طريق الذل بعيدًا عن حبه النبيل الطاهر جيما،
فعاد بعد سنوات طويلة يبحث عنها ويكتب إليها رسالة يطلب منها الصفح عن الماضي الذي كان يتمنى فيه لو يعيش حياته كلها يبيع الحلوى وشراب اللوز، بينما تنفذ شمس الصيف من خلال أوراق الأشجار الكثيفة ويدندن النحل بينها،
الماضي الذي تركها فيه في ربيع مزهر بالزهور الذهبية في أشجار حديقتها الصغيرة، وتركه في خريف دائم، نادمًا على حب كان يعده بربيع أبدي
أحببتها 💛
17.5.2022
January 1, 2024
Sànin já estava indo embora para a Rússia, mas resolveu parar para comer um docinho em uma confeitaria em Frankfurt. Como um pequeno detalhe pode mudar nossas vidas! Vamos lá: Salim entrou na confeitaria e ficou esperando alguns minutos, mas ninguém veio atender. De repente, aparece por trás do balcão uma linda mulher chamada Gemma, desesperada, pedindo para que ele vá ver seu irmão Emílio, que estava passando mal. Ele vai atender o garoto e, apesar de não saber nada de medicina, consegue salvá-lo. Logo começa a chegar a mãe de Gemma, os seus criados, todos agradecendo. Como é uma família italiana, logo pedem para ele ficar para tomar um café e vir no outro dia, e assim começa sua relação com a família. Mas há tanta coisa para acontecer. Para começar a conversa, ele começa a gostar de Gemma. Só que ela já tem um noivo, e isso pode causar algum transtorno. Vai haver também duelos, traições, arrependimentos e sofrimentos. Não sei se esse livro pode ser classificado como um romance ou como uma tragédia, só sei que o livro nos prende até o final. É um livro um tanto desconhecido no Brasil, mas que eu amei e recomendo a todos.
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