A Reckless Character And Other Stories

by Ivan Turgenev

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818-1883) was a great Russian novelist and playwright. His novel Fathers and Sons is regarded as one of major works of 19th-century fiction. After the standard schooling for a child of a gentleman's family, He studied for one year at the University of Moscow and then moved to the University of St Petersburg, focusing on the classics, Russian literature and philology. Turgenev was impressed with German Central-European society, and believed that Russia could best improve itself by imitating the West. Like many of his educated contemporaries, he was particularly opposed to serfdom. He first made his name with A Sportsman's Sketches, also known as Sketches From a Hunter's Album; or, Notes of a Hunter. He wrote several short novels like The Diary of a Superfluous Man, Faust and The Lull. In them Turgenev expressed the anxieties and hopes of Russians of his generation. Amongst his other works are Liza: A Nest of Nobles, The Jew and Other Stories, On the Eve, A Reckless Character and Other Stories, The Torrents of Spring, and The Rendezvous.

Genres: Classics, Short Stories

250 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2010

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

[Vanjr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice collection of short stories that have classic 19th century Russian themes and style. Lots of ghost like hints, interest in peasants/serfs, etc. My kobo edition does not link the footnotes to the text for some reason.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The weakest of 16 volumes of Turgenev, 7 short stories. Includes Clara Militch, at 100 pages the longest. Nothing really memorable in this collection.