First Love / A Fire at Sea

by Ivan Turgenev

First Love is a famous masterpiece; A Fire at Sea is relatively little known, but in its own way no less beautifully composed. On the face of it they have little in common apart from their authorship. The former is a short novel written in Russian in 1860, the latter a description of an incident which Turgenev never forgot, dictated by him in French at the end of his life, in 1883. Yet each, while possessing the artistic qualities of a work of fiction, is largely autobiographical and is concerned with episodes which took place in Turgenev's early life, in the 1830s. Both are recollections in relative tranquility of experiences which seem to have left a mark upon him and, perhaps, haunted him at various periods of his life. Moreover, they reflect one of the recurring themes in Turgenev's work: what Leonard Schapiro has called his "longing for decisiveness of character, for strength of will and determination, which he was never able to achieve. Both are touching, ironical, and wholly delightful

Genres: Russia, Classics, Fiction

Hardcover

Published April 4, 1983

About the author

Ivan 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.

Reviews

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy that this man ever left his house after living through and then PUBLISHING two of the more embarrassing experiences a human being could ever have. Good for him.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous meditation on not just the meaning of life, but the constant struggle to live it as one can so one can feel satisfied with how he lived that life. Even in his older, bachelor days Vladimir, with love, contemplates and then find success that his father, Petr, couldn't find with the joy of romance. As his father could find no sense or reason for the bliss of an innocent romantic love, Vladimir has found innocent, romantic love to be one of the sure escapes and potential joys in life as we ride the many waves toward the definite end of each of our lives. Not a dramatic, fiery page-turner, but indeed a deep thought provoking apology for what many in our jaded culture find to be behind and beneath us, "puppy love".

[Griselda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A first person narrative, telling in a measured tone the experience of a young man on his first voyage. He escapes the dangers of the card table (when he has promised never to gamble) only to be shipwrecked. There must be a moral there somewhere.

[breeanna :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

review of first love;
okay yes a 16 year old boy being madly in love with a 21 year old woman is very strange but nothing went further than teasing and conversing with one another throughout the story and i appreciated that. i thought turgenev's writing was breathtakingly beautiful and stated so much with such simple descriptions. the writing of nature and the wind was gorgeous i loved every description turgenev had to offer. i am corny and love love so i loved seeing this boy go through all the emotions, the good and the ugly, of experiencing love for the first time in his life. the way turgenev is able to capture these emotions like they are currently happening while writing this later in his life is admirable and i loved every second of this little story.

review of a fire at sea;
although this was only 25 pages long, it was extremely detailed and turgenev is so talented at making the reader fall into this world he creates with such little amounts of words. the translators making fun of him and his age that he claims to be in the story is hilarious and i appreciated the context provided prior to reading the story. not as good as first love, of course since it was only 25 pages, but nonetheless still page turning and extremely well written.

the writing was a little convoluted at times, but its 19th century literature so what did we expect? will definitely be reading more turgenev in the future. also the self portrait of turgenev in the front of the copy i borrowed from the library made me so happy and excited to read.

[Rupsa Pal Kundu · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many times when I started reading a book and then picked some other book and forgot about the previous book blissfully. First Love by Turgenev was such a book, which I started reading during my pregnancy and maybe either because of the unruly hormones or the compulsion to read it on an electric media, I stopped reading it.

Thanks to Sumith whose opinions I take extremely seriously, suggested this book to me a few days ago and I remembered the due.

First Love is the most deceptively written book about innocence and cruelty. The teenage agony of falling in love is definitely the main theme but the way Turgenev's writing is able to poke at the memories of falling in love for the first time is unreal.

The deep feeling of realizing the emotion for the first time and the extreme urge of keeping it a secret even from the beloved is the height of ecstasy in any teenager. Of course, there are perils of the adult world which has forgotten the euphoric feelings of past and is more interested in adultery.

The first person narrative in an extremely cautious tone while describing the acme of emotions, both good and ugly has made this prose very enjoyable. It's not just everyday teen-boy crush but there are more to offer. The end is shocking, cruel and absolutely remarkable. Turgenev didn't waste a single word in this tiny book, the words are definitely measured in the most perfect proportion.

It is my first Turgenev and I am not going to stop here.

[Cyprien Saito · Rating 1 out of 5]

I reread this novel translated by Sir Berlin again. For myself, Sir Berlin was absolutely different to M Sartre concerning the matter of popularity. It is certain that this sentence contains a nuanced historically affected tendency of twisted reading of myself on mediocre novelties. Sir Berlin was all in all a BBC reporter type in my memory. Excuse me, this sentence is also naturally based on my false memory. I am simply saying that the woman in First Love seems still to myself a type never employed by Warner Brothers. I’m not saying that she does not know she might be interested and reckoned so as to fit for one of celebrities for advertising in popularity. It concerns the general tendency of English or another peculiar employment of French language in partially novelty. Decca or RCA. I feel difficulty in mentioning its concrete realistic novelties. Trampled underfoot has been for me still one of Led Zeppelin numbers. Every reader is thus always bounded to one’s time-dependent locality.

[Adam Calhoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turgenev has written a novelette describing the breathless feelings one gets at their 'first love'. That giddy schoolboy crush, that crazy obsession: it is all here. He also masterfully works in the rival characters including, fatefully, the boy's father. The book makes me feel the need to revisit Fathers and Sons; the writing here is that of a master.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful and strangely compelling gem.

[Dallas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorta like the Russian version of the Sorrows of Young Werther with a bit of a different ending.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fire At Sea was quite amusing