β Scribed by Ivan Goncharov
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Set at the beginning of the nineteenth century, before the ideal of industrious modern man, when idleness was still looked upon by Russia's serf-owning rural gentry as a plausible and worthy goal, there was Oblomov. Indolent, inattentive, incurious, given to daydreaming and procrastination--indeed, given to any excuse to remain horizontal--Oblomov is hardly the stuff of heroes. Yet, he is impossible not to admire. He is forgiven for his weakness and beloved for his shining soul. Ivan Goncharov's masterpiece is not just ingenious social satire, but also a sharp criticism of nineteenth-century Russian society.
Translator Marian Schwartz breathes new life into Goncharov's voice in this first translation from the generally recognized definitive edition of the Russian original, and the first as well to attempt to replicate in English Goncharov's wry humor and all-embracing humanity, chosen by Slate as one of the Best Books of 2008.
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
When Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, a member of Russia's aristocracy, lacks the willpower and self-confidence to participate in the real world, he risks losing the love of his life.
SUMMARY: Introduction by Richard Freeborn; Translation by Natalie Duddington
### Review "[Goncharov is] ten heads above me in talent.ββAnton Chekhov (Anton Chekhov ) β _Oblomov_ is a truly great work, the likes of which one has not seen for a long, long time. I am in rapture over _Oblomov_ and keep rereading it.ββLeo Tolstoy (Leo Tolstoy ) "Offers a fine example o
### Review "[Goncharov is] ten heads above me in talent.Anton Chekhov (Anton Chekhov ) *Oblomov* is a truly great work, the likes of which one has not seen for a long, long time. I am in rapture over *Oblomov* and keep rereading it.Leo Tolstoy (Leo Tolstoy ) "Offers a fine example of sly and co
SUMMARY: Introduction by Richard Freeborn; Translation by Natalie Duddington
"Follows the travails of an unlikely hero, a young aristocrat incapable of making a decision. Indolent, inattentive, incurious, given to daydreaming and procrastination, Oblomov clearly predates the ideal of the industrious modern man, yet he is impossible not to admire."--Publisher description.