Ivan Turgenev was the most artistic novelist from 19th century Russia. He wrote shorter pieces compared to Dostoevsky and Tolstoy but he deserves more recognition. Fathers and Sons is one amazing novel. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know which Russian novel should I cover next? The big one? You know the one? The real beast of a novel?

@nathanxu9509

2 жыл бұрын

I love Dostoevsky's the Dead House specially. It is a non fiction based on his dramatic experience. Some people feel intimated by his other big books, but this one is pretty readable.

@griffendurrett7302

2 жыл бұрын

Excellent video and a writer i was not familiar with, if by any chance is there a preferred English translation of this book? Thank you so much.

@myckeee

2 жыл бұрын

@@griffendurrett7302 am curious to know too.

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

I read the rosemary edmunds translation in penguin classics edition . No issues whatsoever.

I’m so glad there’s a channel covering Russian literature there aren’t that many so this is a diamond in the rough 🤗

Very well done. I am 75, and just added this to my growing collection of Russian novels(and writers of course). I have read several Russian novels/authors already and am looking forward to reading this one. I am a son, and a father of a son myself. I have read Tolstoy's 'beast' already, and now am almost done Anna Karenina. But I must say, so far, Dostoyevsky is sitting as number one. Again, well done.

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing! I just published my video on Tolstoy's beast and I am working on Anna Karenina right now. I have talked about Dostoevsky quite a lot and now Turgenev. I love all three.

@hillaryclinton1232

Жыл бұрын

@L-Z Virag L-Z Virag Very well done. I am 73, and just also Love this fellow because """"Both Eyes Ruined, Macular Degeneration.

Bazarov is the prototype of the character I used to enjoy reading. Soseki’s later novels, which I love, have similar characters; drawn toward western ideas, and consequently lose connection with others as well as with himself. I loved the duel scene. The ending left me speechless.

I cried like a child at the end of this book. Thank you for the video!

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

I had a similar reaction. It's really wonderful and immensely powerful.

@ReligionOfSacrifice

10 ай бұрын

@@Fiction_Beast “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” The father knows his son is not saved, nor does he have a life before him and yet he runs around trying to prove that his son was destined for a good life in Russia, it was there even if it is now no more.

Your resource about great Russian literature is a treasure :))❤️

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@lenazubova6692

2 жыл бұрын

if you know Russian, then you will enjoy the video discussion of this book by stand-up comedians: "book club chapter 33 Ivan Turgenev Fathers and Sons" (книжный клуб. глава 33. Иван Тургенев. Отцы и дети)

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

@@lenazubova6692 My Russian is ok but not great, but I will check it out. Thanks.

I remember reading Turgenev in my teens and followed with the Brothers Karamazov. Very endearing to my heart!

This is such a well structured and articulated video! Thank you for walking us through this beautiful novel 😊

Sir ive watched your videos since proust, and i can fairly say that youe channel its one of the most valuable and quality filled ones

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Appreciate it mate!

I watched your video a year ago before reading the novel, but finished it now and loved it a lot and then came back and re-watched your video. The video is full and has covered the whole book almost. Thanks a lot!!❤

So happy to have found your site. In the university I studied Turgenev's 'Fathers and Sons' yet your descriptions and insights exceed all I believed I'd learned. Grateful new subscriber...Thank you.

great video i just finished the book and was looking forward to a review of the sort. bravo!

Great video as always. This is how criticism should be analysing a piece of literature without making a theory out of it.

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Indeed! thanks for watching.

@BigHenFor

2 жыл бұрын

But that idea is a theory too. Lol. A theory is a conceptual tool that frames a subject either to explain it, explore it as a phenomenon, or to make a prediction. Theories are only useful for wanting to understand the impact of a phenomenon on the world. This channel is as theoretical as a P.hD student writing a dissertation on proto-feminist developments in the Russian novel; a baby who keeps dropping a spoon on the floor to get it's mother's attention; or a reader who keeps returning to a well-thumbed novel over the years to relive the meaning they find there. A novel is a theory of human experience too, and we are all scientists searching for knowledge and meaning. Honestly, academic discourse - and all discourse really - are combs of various fineness combing through the knotty texture of human experience to understand it and communicate it's importance more clearly. That's why novels are important, they give you new perspectives, and develop your understanding, through giving you a lens and speaking to your reason and your soul. You might not need to understand or use academic depths of analysis, but you are thinking and responding to this channel's theoretical framework. Yep, Art is theory, but without the academic trappings, because Art is the precursor of all creativity and human development.

@vaibhavnayak5890

2 жыл бұрын

@@BigHenFor agree but my argument was many modern humanities theories are sounding like theories of mathematics or logic or physics. I have no issues with theory but only with physics envy.

This is such a masterfully created video. You put all the thoughts I had throughout my reading of this novel into words. Thank you for pouring your own insights and for dedicating the time to help us better understand and reflect upon this masterpiece of universal literature!

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

Appreciate it!

i love this channel, thank you for doing this man!

I am really glad! thank you very much for clarifying the ideas behind this great novel. the video opened my eyes to some important details that can make the experience deeper.

This looks like a very intricate novel with so many contrasting characters against different backgrounds all woven together in a seamless manner. You have done an amazing job breaking it down in such a clear way. Thanks a lot. Did you know that France is celebrating Proust’s 100th anniversary over a whole year starting from November last year. A Very Happy Productive and Rewarding Year.

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, and wish you a great 2022 for you too.

Your video is amazing! Thank you for this excellent work

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you too!

Excellent video. Want to see more

Just finished the book and I loved it! And now watching your video is so much pleasure . Thank you

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Wonderful!

Very good analysis, thank´s for sharing!

Wonderful commentary -- thank you!! You just gained a new subscriber.

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Awesome, thank you!

Great work, thank you!

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

Happy to have found your site. Liked your narration. Thank you.

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for listening

good points and wonderful video, thank you

This is amazing. subbed

Great work Matt. Did I spot a photo L1 in amongst this review. Thank you so much

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks. What’s L1?

@gazrater1820

2 жыл бұрын

@@Fiction_Beast Liverpool 1 city centre @16m50s I have eaten in eat in the recent past and shop their sometimes; small world pal isn’t it it’s a good shopping centre in Merseyside England, United Kingdom.

Thank you for another video!

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you like them!

Awsome!Just watched it.So useful.You're pretty savvy 👍👌🌹

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

Great video, thank you :)

Thank you for your great video! Subbed

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

Appreciate it.

Wonderful work

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Cheers!

Magnificient site!

Beautifully done

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Cheers!

Hi! I just wanted to say that I really love your Chanel every video you do has so much on it. So thank you for your hard work :)

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Great many thanks for the critcal review of the great classic novel Two requests:1) can you pls share the text of your narration? 2) the movie adaption shown in this.

Many thanks friend you bright some "optimism" to a very dark and challenging book.

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Great work. Thanks!.. greetings from Peru

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Really appreciable as well as extremely precious

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it.

Just amazing ❤

@Fiction_Beast

9 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Well done sir, salute

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

thanks

Since I cannot keep purchasing books at a whim, I'll get hooked to this channel instead. It's the closest to reading the books I cannot buy 😌🙌🏻

Thank a lot, great great job. From Madrid, España.

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Really appreciate it.

Just read it and my god it’s easily my favorite.

Thank you 🙂

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

You’re welcome 😊

What's that meloncholy piano track used in this video?? I'd love to listen to it as I read the novel!

Thanks!

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

In times of American craziness I've found a heaven of Russian old novels. Time to read boys :)

Great

I've read this in college around 2009 or so I've never been the same since

@charmedprince

7 ай бұрын

It's my favorite book in all dimensions of life

Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev I’ve recently been getting into Russian literature and I’ve read a couple of books by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Nabakov. So I decided to give Fathers & Sons a try. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy this shorter read, but I couldn’t help but cringe while reading about Bazarov. He felt like an insufferable, emotionally constipated child to me. Does anyone else feel this way about him? I do think it could partly be because we live in times where all of us are more emotionally aware and just more generally exposed to different ideologies compared to the people of the time this book was set in. P.S. I enjoyed this video!

I can’t be the only one who thought that Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov died, or am I completely insane. In the Penguin Classic’s version, it states “and he was indeed a dead man” at the end of chapter fourteen. Maybe it was a translation ‘mistake’.

@haraldhelfgott195

Жыл бұрын

I asked a Russian friend - no, it's like that in the original; Turgenev is tricking the reader. Of course that foreshadows what have been later - and readers end up being forced to admit that they are grieved more by Bazarov's death than they would have been by Pavel Petrovich's (already a shock that turned out to be untrue; P.P. is only figuratively a "dead man").

@ilan8468

Жыл бұрын

@@haraldhelfgott195 Thank’s for the explanation!

@velmuralgs

10 ай бұрын

Maybe he meant that he was humiliated and thus "dead"? Even more because they keep repeating the injury is not of concern. If it's not for this reason, then it's a cheap trick in an otherwise masterpiece.

8:30 Show opposite world's different point of view on life 10:00 She found something new in him. Do things differently then other people Gunnercis a good literatuer

The title of this novel was different from Alma classic: Fathers and Children. .by the same author Ivan Turgenev. . .

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

That’s close to the Russian original

Very nice. Surely you win your coffee

There is a brand new book out for father's and children. A new translation. Seen it in the NY times book review.

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

It’s a more literal translation of the Russian original

@kendenta2207

Жыл бұрын

@@Fiction_Beast yes. Thank you. I think I will order it.

What song plays at 7:00?

Can you post the link to the movie?

2:24 this divide reminds me of how Vladimir lenin had to deal with a group pf people who were called prolekult, who wanted to destroy all the old tradition,and works,such as that of Tolstoy, because they were all from the feudal era and jad feudal values. Lenin had to go through extensive efforts to convince people like these that these works belong to the Russian people as a whole,and to move forward into a new era isn't by destroying them,but by continuing and popularizing them amongst all people. I guess that is the reason why in ny culture, Dostoyevsky was the most read novelist,propogated almost exclusively through our communist leaders, even though he was not a communist or from my culture!

Hello, friend, for a friend U are Having given us all this! Greetings to thee from afar, & a happy New Year of bliss. Your analysis is outstanding, Too bad its too prompt ending. I'd love to contact thee, might I inquire about your website? Best wishes, be & stay well Sends you one named Michael.

What was the thought behind the thumbnail..Stalin & Uljanov??

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

Turgenev depicted a character very similar to the young Lenin and Stalin.

I love Russian literature - but it is always so hard to remember everyone’s name in the beginning. Especially with Dostoyevsky.

no true nihilist would bother to write a book.

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

no true nihilist would bother reading a book either :)

@dextermorgan7439

Жыл бұрын

I have nihilistic tendencies like i dont believe in afterlife, i do t believe live has any meaning. That's just the reason i do what i want to do. If i want to read , i read . Doing nothing is boring

Bazar also could mean an argument in Russian.

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

I didn’t know. I guess in market people argue or negotiate

Where are you from matt?

You say Russia looked to England for inspiration but surely you mean Scotland and it's age of Enlightenment, the Athens of the North? It was the great French philosopher and historian Voltaire (1694-1778) who said ‘We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation’. And and Benjamin Franklin caught the mood of the place in his Autobiography (1794): “Persons of good Sense…seldom fall into [disputation], except Lawyers, University Men, and Men of all Sorts that have been bred at Edinburgh.” Please elaborate what was so inspirational about England? I'll let you off a bit if you meant to say United Kingdom. ;))

Common life is the best way to defeat nihilism .

The USSR was not a nihilist country that denied beauty and art. The greatest composers worked in the USSR, such as Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Sviridov, Schnittke, and many others. There were great poets and writers, artists, directors and actors in the USSR. Many Soviet films and cartoons are works of art. Just look at the Soviet "Winnie the Pooh" and compare it with the American one.The Soviet design of many things is still pleasing to the eye. Your words about the USSR are typical anti-Soviet Western propaganda.

@Fiction_Beast

11 ай бұрын

Can you make some great points I was looking at the Soviet architecture closely. Of course within any system that are deviations. Overall ideology was utilitarian

In my own opinion I think "fathers and sons" was countered by Fyodor Dostoevsky's "the adolescent". . .

@Fiction_Beast

2 жыл бұрын

How?

@jaydorota3625

2 жыл бұрын

You can read it in alma classics' extra information. .

@portishphonic

2 жыл бұрын

I'm reading The Adolescent at the moment and I think you might be right.

i now understand why nihilism is said to be a joke

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

It's fiction.

@herenow8047

Жыл бұрын

@@Fiction_Beast nihilism is actually very real!

15:46 Did you call Soviet art bland and ugly? And illustrated your statement with a picture of mass construction, which is similarly pragmatic in any country? Soviet art is amazing, touching films, some of them got Western awards. Soviet art is deep and exciting books, which cover the most dramatic historical events the Soviet people experienced in XX century. Soviet art is innovative composers, poets and singers, whose music and songs inspired people to defeat Hitler. Soviet art is countless mosaics and ornaments on factories, shops, stations and bus stops. Soviet art is magnificent metro stations that look like palaces made for all people, not just the rich one percent. How can you have a literature channel and say that about Soviet art?

@novinceinhosic3531

2 ай бұрын

Church = good Crown = good Red flag = bad democracy = bad Don't think further than this!

And also why not try and do tiktok?

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

TikTok is for dancers and comedians. Am I wrong?

@soumiasoumia4330

Жыл бұрын

@@Fiction_Beast that's maybe how it started, but right now it's one of the most used media platform. I guess it can be a way to get people's attention since it is very popular at the moment. Also it allows longer videos than the reals on Instagram and you can do a sort of playlist, so it may be interesting for you :) I don't know I'm just suggesting it.

@Fiction_Beast

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! It sounds a good idea to reach more people. I have to learn how to make vertical videos through :)

Today I read Fathers and Sons by Turgenev for the first time. It is beautifully written and with hidden meanings. But in no way does it approach the quality of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy.