4 books
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1. Fathers and Sons
Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons explores generational differences and their tragic consequences. The story centers around Arkady and Bazarov, two young men who return home from college to a world that has remained static. They have changed but must now redefine old relationships, both their friendship with one another and their relationships with their fathers. The main conflict of the novel is between the nihilistic Bazarov, who espouses a strictly materialistic attitude toward life, and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, an uncle of Arkady’s, who upholds the aristocratic tradition in the face of Bazarov’s ridicule. Fathers and Sons originally aroused controversy in Russia, with both radicals and conservatives disturbed by the portrait of Bazarov - an energetic, cynical, and self-assured nihilist who repudiates the romanticism of his elders.
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2. Soviet Six Pack
Soviet Six Pack presents six of the finest examples of classic Russian literature: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekhov. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev.
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3. The Diary of a Superfluous Man
A diary by a man who has a few days left to live as he recounts incidents of his life. He is intelligent, well-educated, and informed but incapable, for reasons as complex as Hamlet’s, of engaging in effective action. The story has become the archetype for the Russian literary concept of the superfluous man.
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4. Padri e figli
Arkadij Kirsanov e l'amico Bazarov, studente di medicina, materialista e antitradizionalista, autodefinendosi nichilista, si recano nella tenuta dei Kirsanov, dove vivono anche Pavel Petrovic, lo zio di Arkadij, un accanito conservatore e nostalgico aristocratico che tenta (con scarsi esiti) di gestire la sua masseria applicando sistemi liberali. Ben presto si accende una disputa tra l'animo rivoluzionario di Bazarov e l'orgoglioso Pavel, così i due giovani preferiscono partire per recarsi a trovare i genitori di Bazarov. I due giovani così conoscono Koljazin, parente dei Kirsanov e Anna SergeevnaOdincova, una donna giovane e affascinante, che invita i due giovani presso la sua tenuta, dove vive anche la giovane sorella Katja. Passano i giorni e ben presto comincia a rivelarsi una simpatia tra Arkadij e Katja e soprattutto di Bazarov verso Anna. Egli si spinge, contro i suoi stessi principi a dichiararle il suo amore. I due giovani decidono così di partire di nuovo.