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First Love and the Diary of a Superfluous Man
Ivan Turgenev (1818–1883) was one of the greatest Russian writers of his day, and the first to gain an international reputation. His novels, among them Rudin (1856), Fathers and Sons (1862), and Virgin Soil (1877), and his many stories and plays pointedly reveal his opposition to the serf system and his profound insights into the lives, interests, and attitudes of the nobility and intelligentsia of mid-19th-century Russia.
Two of Turgenev's best works of short fiction are the touching First Love (1860), a novella known to be partly autobiographical, and The Diary of a Superfluous Man (1850), a fascinating tale of an ineffectual Russian Hamlet. Both provide a superb introduction to the keen social perception, rich characterization, and narrative command of this Russian master. Both stories are presented here in acclaimed translations by Constance Garnett.
Two of Turgenev's best works of short fiction are the touching First Love (1860), a novella known to be partly autobiographical, and The Diary of a Superfluous Man (1850), a fascinating tale of an ineffectual Russian Hamlet. Both provide a superb introduction to the keen social perception, rich characterization, and narrative command of this Russian master. Both stories are presented here in acclaimed translations by Constance Garnett.
99 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 25, 1995
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About the author
Ivan Turgenev
1,498 books2,802 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 30, 2022
These two novellas from the 1800s depict first love and unrequited love better than any romance book you can find today. Turgenev managed to craft characters so timeless and so grounded in reality that I felt like my thoughts were being mirrored on the page:
"What was the reason of this trivial fretting at myself? -- who knows? who can tell?"
"It positively strikes me as extraordinary the way people manage to talk, and so simply and freely."
"[About Zinaïda] But the feeling of rapture I experienced then has never come a second time in my life. It turned to a sweet ache in all my limbs and found expression at last in joyful hops and skips and shouts. Yes, I was still a child."
"I did not want to know whether I was loved, and did not want to acknowledge to myself that I was not loved."
Like? Turgenev is a genius, I rest my case.
"What was the reason of this trivial fretting at myself? -- who knows? who can tell?"
"It positively strikes me as extraordinary the way people manage to talk, and so simply and freely."
"[About Zinaïda] But the feeling of rapture I experienced then has never come a second time in my life. It turned to a sweet ache in all my limbs and found expression at last in joyful hops and skips and shouts. Yes, I was still a child."
"I did not want to know whether I was loved, and did not want to acknowledge to myself that I was not loved."
Like? Turgenev is a genius, I rest my case.
July 12, 2017
Just recently I went to a lecture on Turgenev in which the lecturer discussed nihilism in his work. She also mentioned that he coined the term 'superfluous man'.
These two short stories are in some ways quite similar and what I find I like best about Turgenev is his insight into human nature and the characters he creates--I think this is what makes his work so fresh even more than a hundred years after its publication. I found myself underlining bits that felt so true to me--thinking, 'I know someone like that!' or 'I've felt the same way!' Isn't this what we look for in literature--that moment of recognition?
I also like to read about love when it's been written many years ago as opposed to contemporary love stories. Not sure why.
These two short stories are in some ways quite similar and what I find I like best about Turgenev is his insight into human nature and the characters he creates--I think this is what makes his work so fresh even more than a hundred years after its publication. I found myself underlining bits that felt so true to me--thinking, 'I know someone like that!' or 'I've felt the same way!' Isn't this what we look for in literature--that moment of recognition?
I also like to read about love when it's been written many years ago as opposed to contemporary love stories. Not sure why.
April 17, 2017
These two stories are magnificently brilliant and I loved them. The Diary of a Superfluous Man is a rather sad story about a man who isn't even the main character in his own life, a life which is soon to end despite of his youth. There are beautiful passages and one of the most beautiful short stories I have ever read. I love the way he writes in the characters perspective and it is a very agreeable short story. First Love is a short story as brilliant as the other. It is about a man's account of his first love, a very queer one. At the age of 16 Valdimir fell in love with a woman of 21 named Zinaida, but she does not reciprocate this love. She has a long line of lovers who would die for her, but she loves none of them. In fact, it is Valdimir's father whom her heart is set upon! It is a great tale and I loved the way it was written and the characters are beautiful and tragic. I love these stories very much, I dare say they are the best short stories I have ever read. I love them dearly and I highly recommend it.
October 19, 2020
من بداية الرواية وشعور كان دمجت رواية دوستوفيسكي في قبوي مع المعطف لنيكولاي غوغول والخلاصة هذه المذكرات التي تجد طريقها الى روح الإنسان وبسهولة تستطيع إسقاطها على حياتنا اليوم رغم أنها من القرن التاسع عشر
November 3, 2023
Welll i just wanna say that It's a good read BUTTT
The text are too compacted and long in one page , so in some parts of reading this books you'll get bored and just don't seem to read no more it's like reading a manuscript or Analyzing an deposition and widrawal record of a bank account, Anywayss The story was Quite longgg i guess? The point was very long to be said.
But i give it a 3 star kinda grow on me and some parts of it can be really relatable even if it's dated back to18th century
The text are too compacted and long in one page , so in some parts of reading this books you'll get bored and just don't seem to read no more it's like reading a manuscript or Analyzing an deposition and widrawal record of a bank account, Anywayss The story was Quite longgg i guess? The point was very long to be said.
But i give it a 3 star kinda grow on me and some parts of it can be really relatable even if it's dated back to18th century
August 21, 2018
Interesting, with some beautiful descriptions.
Read
December 5, 2022“Asya” too
Superflous Man: “in the face of eternity, all is vanity”
Superflous Man: “in the face of eternity, all is vanity”
Read
July 14, 2024Both of these stories are tales of unrequited love. Full of darkly comic and cringe worthy scenes, it was a quick and wonderful read. First Love being the better of the two tales.
February 27, 2009
I really only read the [Diary of a Superfluous Man:] on dailylit.com.
This is a moving novella. The premise is that the diarist is on his deathbed and resolves to write about his life to prove that he is superfluous. He doesn't make it far before he gets to the issue that really bothers him--a love affair from earlier in his life. As he recounts the story over a series of diary entries, his present condition casts a pall over the tale, and he comes off as maudlin rather than tragic.
This is my first work by Turgenev, and I found it to be an interesting psychological study. The novella plays on the concept of the deathbed confession or the "unfinished business" that many people who are dying need to resolve. It's a quick read, and it lends itself well to the dailylit format.
This is a moving novella. The premise is that the diarist is on his deathbed and resolves to write about his life to prove that he is superfluous. He doesn't make it far before he gets to the issue that really bothers him--a love affair from earlier in his life. As he recounts the story over a series of diary entries, his present condition casts a pall over the tale, and he comes off as maudlin rather than tragic.
This is my first work by Turgenev, and I found it to be an interesting psychological study. The novella plays on the concept of the deathbed confession or the "unfinished business" that many people who are dying need to resolve. It's a quick read, and it lends itself well to the dailylit format.
September 12, 2010
I used to work at Target and this sweet older gentleman would come in once a week or so and we would talk about the greats. He found out that I love the Russian writers of the 19th century and one day he brought me this tiny book of Turgenev's. The stories are insightful and a good recommendation for someone just starting down the Russian genre path. Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons" was my very first Russian author and he introduced me to a world of frank conversation and passionate action, something that my beloved Victorian novels lack.
May 11, 2008
I'm just talking about First Love here, I haven't read the other. I'm a big fan of romantic and violent Russian literature with sado-masochistic undertones. I've often fantasized about writing a screenplay for this but I think it would lose all of its magic if you could actually see the characters.
April 8, 2008
I only read First Love, and it took a mere day. Now I'm going back to read the introduction. The story paints an accurate picture of what a first teenage love is often like. Something unspoken, merely alluded to, is going on with the object of the main characters affection.
March 29, 2011
I was frankly blown away by these two longer short stories of Turgenevs. He jumps straight in there and doesn't let up. The power of perception and sensitivity mixed with the way he attacks his subject is awesome.
May 18, 2011
Turgenev's "The Diary of a Superfluous Man" is a clssic of emotional and psychological distress, and despite being a century and a half old, feels like it was written last week. Timeless, beautiful and tragic. And being Turgenev, it has an awesome duel!
August 17, 2015
"O nature! nature! I love thee so, but I came forth from they womb good for nothing -- not fit even for life."
"And tearful invocations to nature are mortally absurd."
"there is pleasure and pain in irritating the sores of old wounds, why not indulge oneself?"
"And tearful invocations to nature are mortally absurd."
"there is pleasure and pain in irritating the sores of old wounds, why not indulge oneself?"
January 27, 2013
Recommended by Emma! Fascinating character depictions, with strong undertones of Russian socio-political tensions. Tremendous translation- and the prose are beautifully concise.
August 30, 2014
Just beautiful. Both stories are eminently teachable. So well made, and psychologically rich.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews