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The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Volume: 15; Original Publisher: New York : Macmillan, Heinemann; Publication date: 1894; Subjects: Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Short Stories; Foreign Language Study / Russian; History / Europe / Russia ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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In this rediscovered literary gem, Turgenev explores the elusive nature of love, suggesting that with the loss of love comes a sense of resignation—and the conviction that the essence of life lies in self–denial. It is published here with the short story Yakov Pasynkov. Foreword by Simon Callow.

In a series of letters to a friend, the narrator relates how he has managed to convince a married woman—hitherto shielded from the powerful effects of poetry and fiction—of the importance of developing the imagination. By introducing her to Goethe’s masterpiece, he sets in motion a chain of crucial events. In this poetic exploration of spiritual awakening, Turgenev demonstrates his preoccupation with the culture of Western Europe and the nature of human relations. Ivan Turgenev (1818–1883) was a Russian novelist and playwright, who spent much of his life in Western Europe. His writing profoundly affected the course of European literature. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1903-1904.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1907Original Publisher: Scribner'sSubjects: RussiaFiction / Short StoriesFiction / ClassicsFiction / LiteraryFiction / Short StoriesHistory / Europe / Russia ... Read more

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Turgenev was unquestionably the most liberal-spirited and unqualifiedlyhumane of all the great nineteenth-century Russian novelists, and in Virgin Soil, the biggest and most ambitious of all his works, he sought to balance his deep affection for his country and his people with his growing apprehensions about what their future held in store. At the heart of the book is the story of a young man and a young woman, torn between love and politics, who struggle to make headway against the complacency of the powerful, the inarticulate misery of the powerless, and the stifling conventions of provincial life. This rich and complex book, at once a love story, a devastating, and bitterly funny, social satire, and, perhaps most movingly of all, a heartfelt celebration of the immense beauty of the Russian countryside, is a tragic masterpiece in which one of the worldÕs finest novelists confronts the enduring question of the place of happiness in a political world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Essential reading; Russian social history as a literary novel
While I'm unable to compare Turgenev's Russian with Constance Garnett's English translation--lucky those who know both languages--I would agree that Garnett's version is at times banal and lackluster.Perhaps the problem is that while the characters's dilemmas have become familiar (because of 20th-century Soviet history), the characters's turbulent inner dramas, the emotions, seldom catch fire on the page.And I don't know if the characters's lives are more exciting in Turgenev's original; however, I would not expect a novel published in 1877 to have the same appeal in 2008, when the heat of the era is long past.What's very familiar, and why this novel is essential reading for an understanding of the literature of the past 140 years, is that Turgenev illustrates the conflicts of men and women in their nation-building struggle.(This plot design, and the cast of characters, is probably what interested Constance Garnett's readers of her 1890 translation up to at least the 1930s.)

(Please read on, but my apologies to all: I don't yet know how to write a short review.)

We have met Turgenev's women and men before: the jingo-patriot imperialist, Tsarist landowner; the politically liberal but socially conservative landowner and his pampered, gossipy, social-climbing wife; the impulsive, hot-headed rebel; the artist-poet who would like to be a revolutionist but is more suited to writing lyrically by candlelight; and the even-tempered rational, physically attractive female rebel who, as a sign of her dedication to the cause, rejects the bourgeois marriage pact; then, not least, the ignorant, retrograde peasants, the silent factory workers, and the hard-pressed, abused man of "anonymous Russia" who must blend into the urban jungle.

But Virgin Soil is literature.Turgenev did not write with a template of socialist realism; this is not a "how to" novel on creating democracy in a system that knows only Tsarist imperialism.But, the central dilemma which Turgenev created has not changed: what should the well-meaning, educated person do when she or he is caught between two extremes?The author set up the plot of the novel by identifying himself with--and perhaps many readers will, too--the central consciousness of the novel: Alexey Dmitrievitch Nezhdanov, "the Hamlet of Russia," the educated, peace-loving poet, born out of wedlock to a Russian aristocrat.

Highly recommended: Henry James's novel, same theme but set in London, The Princess Casamassima, published in 1886.James had met Turgenev in Paris and knew the plot of Virgin Soil, and perhaps James read a French translation.But Henry James makes his characters come alive on the page: they are part and parcel of their personal and political predicaments.There's a paradox here: According to Constance Garnett and her circle, Henry James was old stuff, an old fuddy-duddy; but James was able to make the reader feel the bite of poverty, the pain of ignorance, and the tragedy of betrayal.Henry James focused on the people he created--the characters's differing levels ofawareness--and, as a result, he achieved a more dynamic blending of plot and character.Certainly, The Princess Casamassima is a more cunning and cutting picture of plot and counter-plot, a behind-the-scenes look at the role of the individual in nation building.Also read Edmund Wilson's narrative non-fiction masterpiece on the rise of socialism in Europe, To the Finland Station (1940).

GARNETT UNFAIR TO TURGENEV
"Virgin Soil" (1877) was Turgenev's last, longest, but far from greatest novel. A recurring theme through all his fiction is the contrast between the romantic Russian liberalism of the 1840s, which Turgenev regarded as ineffectual, and the hard-headed populism of the 1860s and 70s. After the 1861 emancipation of the serfs (some 80% of Russia at the time), University students wanted to "go to the people" and enlighten them. When they got there, they found an unbridgeable chasm between the middle class and rural workers, who suspiciously had agitators arrested. Many of these spent years in solitary confinement, and the bitterness of their thwarted hopes for reform poisoned Russian politics and made violent revolution more likely. "Virgin Soil" begins with one such cell of radicals in St. Petersburg in 1868, and follows them to the countryside where they interact with both liberal and reactionary gentry, as well as with clear-headed Bolsheviks of the future. Little happens, and the thin, drawn-out plot lacks the economy, texture, and pungency of "Fathers and Sons." This is a decidedly second-drawer effort. To make matters worse, New York Review Books has reissued it in the incompetent, hackwork translation of Constance Garnett (1862-1946), presumably because it was in the public domain. I cannot judge her handling of Russian (though Nabokov did: "dried dung," he called her work) but her English is not even professional: NYRB could have spent some of the money they saved on a free translation by hiring a line editor to correct her egregious errors in syntax, grammar, and punctuation.It might have been better having no edition of "Virgin Soil" on the market at all.

More Russian Nihilism
"To turn over virgin soil it is necessary to use a deep plough going well into the earth, not a surface plough gliding lightly over the top."-From a Farmer's Notebook.
Virgin Soil, by Ivan Sergevich Tugenev, is another Russian revolutionist novel.The dubious main character, Nejdanov, is a young poet who tries to help spread the socialistic propaganda to the poor peasants.They must dig deep into the mother earth of Russia to plant the seeds of communism.Nejdanov is accused of being a traitor and gives useless speeches, while his lover, Marianatries desperately to get him to accept her.Markelov, an older member of the cause, goes to the extreme to arm the peasants and start a revolution and is locked up.Solomin (the real hero), is a cool minded, patient revolutionist who thinks of the peasants as barn animals.He is Turgenev'sideal insurgent.While the main character, Nejdanov is described as, "...the idealist of realism".The book ends with death and imprisonment and an overall unhappy feeling.
Not the most exciting read, just another Russian novel full of depressing nihilist and revolutionist.Tugenev's other great work, Fathers and Sons, is a far more interesting novel, and I highly recommend it.

explanations of all sorts only lead to confusion
This is the third of Ivan Turgenev's novels that I have read. He is such a wonderful novelist that the things I dislike about some of his female characters (he must have had SUCH a tough time of it!) tends to get obscured. Surely there can't be women in the world that manipulative and self-obsessed! But I'll avoid the risk of confusing things - yes, the title of my review is a quote - and just mention that there are nice women in each of the novels that I have read, as well as the less attractive, but ever so alluring ones.

Common to all three Turgenev novels that I have read is rejection - rejection of women by men. But the rejection has nothing to do with the men thinking the women are inadequate. It is the men who see themselves as unworthy and, for me with my Western eyes, their 'reasons' are SO tenuous. And yet, for all that I do see the 'sense' in it - I have seen the world in the same way myself.

The outcome for me of this novel was unsatisfactory for another reason that I will not attempt to explain. But it is understandable for me why this outcome was plotted by the author - unlike that of DH Lawrence in another book I reviewed recently.

Perhaps Joseph Conrad is correct in 'Under Western Eyes' and those of us with Western eyes will never really understand the Russian - I have certainly tried both personally and in literature. And I have to say I am floundering a bit. Nevertheless, for the sheer joy of reading a brilliantly crafted novel I unreservedly recommend 'Virgin Soil'.

Other recommendations:
'Memoirs of a Revolutionist' by Peter Kropotkin
'Fathers and Sons' by Ivan Turgenev
'Spring Torrents' by Ivan Turgenev
'Under Western Eyes' by Joseph Conrad

Quintessential Turgenev
Encompassing social commentary, a (albeit fairly simplistic) love story, and a homage to Russia's beauty, this work does not fail the lover of Turgenev.Certainly this might not necessarily be the best work with which to begin one's odyssey through Turgenev, but this very effectively pulls together all the familiar elements of his writing.Turgenev is not known for his plot development, and this is again the case here: very little actually occurs.The absence of plot and of action, however, is not to say that this dry, boring drivel.Rather, Turgenev's material, this work in particular, becomes a pleasant marriage of the classic novel with the novel of ideas.

His commentary, both political and human, is both trapped in the amber of history and universally relevant (a lovely dichotomy) to the human condition."Virgin Soil" is a very fine story, and the translation is flowing and literate (having no Russian, I cannot speak to how accurately this might reflect the original). ... Read more

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A bright spring day was fading into evening. High overhead in the clear heavens small rosy clouds seemed hardly to move across the sky but to be sinking into its depths of blue. ... Read more

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A House of Gentlefolk. please visit www.valdebooks.com for a full list of titles ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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From the preface:

WHEN Litvinov was torn loose from his "far from gay or complicated" life, caught up in a lurid passion in which he was never at home, and then abandoned, he fled upon the train. At first he was exhausted by the prodigious effort of will he had made; then a kind of composure came upon him. He "was hardened." The train, the minutes, were carrying him away from the wreck of his life.

"He took to gazing out of the window. The day was gray and damp; there was no rain, but the fog held on, and low-lying clouds veiled the sky. The wind was blowing in the contrary direction to the course of the train; whitish clouds of steam, now alone, now mingled with other, darker clouds, of smoke, swept, in an endless series, past the window beside which Litvinov sat. He began to watch the steam, the smoke. Incessantly whirling, rising and falling, twisting and catching at the grass, at the bushes, playing pranks, as it were, lengthening and melting, puff followed puff,... they were constantly changing and yet remained the same... a monotonous, hurried, tiresome game! Sometimes the wind changed, the road made a turn--the whole mass suddenly disappeared, and immediately became visible through the opposite window; then, once more, the hugh train flung itself over, and once more veiled from Litvinov the wide view of the Rhine Valley. He gazed and gazed, and a strange reflection occurred to him.... He was alone in the carriage; there was no one to interfere with him. 'Smoke, smoke'--he repeated several times in succession; and suddenly everything appeared to him to be smoke--everything, his own life, everything pertaining to men, especially everything Russian. Every thing is smoke and steam, he thought;--everything seems to be constantly undergoing change; every where there are new forms, phenomenon follows phenomenon, but in reality everything is exactly alike; everything is hurrying, hastening somewhither--and everything vanishes without leaving a trace, without having attained to any end whatever; another breeze has begun to blow--and everything has been flung to the other side, and there, again, is the same incessant, agitated--and useless game. He recalled many things which had taken place, with much sound and clatter, before his eyes the last few years.. 'smoke,' he murmured,--'smoke.'"

"Smoke." This is not only Litvinov's reaction from experiences too terrible for his mind and heart to stand--and also his consolation--but it is Turgenev's own reaction to life. The profound disillusion following the failure of the Revolutionary movement of '48, which swept over the intellectuals of Europe, had also its characteristic repercussion among the intellectual youth of Russia, and made a generation like the later generation so well portrayed by Tchekov--the men of the '80s, and also like the Intelligentsia after the failure of the Revolution of 1905. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Russians in Baden-Baden
"Smoke," a novel mainly set among wealthy Russians travelling abroad, is not without its problems. The story takes a while to get under way, and Turgenev's effort to fit the plot developments into the broader issue of Westernization in Russia at times places a strain on the narrative.

However, a scene in chapter 26 (which gives the book its name) features one of the loveliest passages I have yet encountered in literature. It is a brief passage in which Litvinov, the main character, returning to Russia with his spirit crushed by the circumstances of his ill-fated trip to Baden-Baden, has a reverie prompted by the sight of the smoke he sees outside the train window. As is often the case with Turgenev's writing, it is a simple scene but one laden with humanity and warmth.

(BTW: It is also worthwhile to examine this book in connection with Leonid Tsypkin's "Summer in Baden-Baden" which discusses the meeting there between Turgenev and Dostoevsky.)

Where's the Fire?
Turgenev devotees will be pleased to find a copy of this most seldom reissued and perhaps least known of his novels. Its tidy paperback sheath, studded with sepia snapshots from the historical time it depicts, makes a fine outer garment for the spare and slender frame of a tale we find within. For, at first glance, "Smoke" will not appear to have many of the winning features which normally draw readers into Turgenev's fictional realms and keep them there, so happily immured: absent are the legendary lyrical descriptions of the Russian countryside and its owners to be found in such novels as "Rudin" and "Home of the Gentry," and missing are the complex character development and more involved political reflections which are hallmarks of the somewhat lesser yet still impressive "On the Eve." And the discoverer of "Smoke" will be sorely disappointed should she or he hope to find in this work something to satisfy the voracious literary appetite engendered by the sumptuous meal which "Fathers and Children" invariably is. "Smoke," like "Virgin Soil" which immediately followed it, has no dearth of defects. Its plot moves too swiftly, for example, giving no time for characters to change and events to move in credible ways. Its tone is often mean-spirited and sour. Practically no one likeable, aside, perhaps, from the unhappy Tatyana, appears in its pages. Its plot and even dialogue are too often puzzlingly predictable. Yet, for all its lacks, "Smoke" does accomplish the astonishing novelistic miracle, achieved by so few: the creation of two characters, in Irina Ratmirov and Grigory Litvinov, who are utterly unforgettable. Unsavory from first bite to final slurp, an encounter with them will leave the reader longing for some equally ferocious flavor as purgative to the palate. No small feat! Though to a 21st century American ear, this translation will sound quaintly Victorian (Constance Garnett, whose translating career death has not hurt one little bit) and cozily English (check out curiosities like "phiz" and "fly"), it is well-worth not only buying but reading. What better way, really, to point out the always-to-be-remembered truth that even immortals like the divine Turgenev were not continually engaged in the manufacture of masterpieces.

Very readable, youthful Turgenev romantic/political novel
A very readable translation, although more can be gained with an elementary level of French to catch some of the untranslated idiomatic phrases of the faux aristocracy.This short novel is not as sentimental or melancholy as "Spring Torrents" or "First Love," and perhaps lacks the polish of his best-known work "Fathers and Sons," but the mixture of the setting (Baden Baden, Germany)with the characters from not only Russia, but also France, Germany et al., with a familiar plot device (love triangle) makes for not only an interesting love story but also an intriguing glance at the political history of Russia and western Europe.I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a more complete understanding of Turgenev's works,the Russian novel in general, and the late 19th Century European literature.Personally, I have enjoyed all of Turgenev's novels and would recommend any of them.If you are new to Turgenev, however, I would definitely recommend starting with "Fathers and Sons." All of Turgenev's novels combined make for less reading than say Tolstoy's "War and Peace" or Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment."Sample some Turgenev! ... Read more

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Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Insight
When I was introduced to this great book, I had only read Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons." I checked out a copy from the California State University, Long Beach library and began reading it immediately. I was enthralled throughout my reading by Turgenev's powerful descriptions of not only the serfs and their masters but also the nature surrounding them. It is an excellent book, and I always think of the places depicted in the book and the people. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
A sleepy, unkempt doctor, smelling strongly of spirits, was brought. My father died under his lancet, and the next day, utterly stupefied by grief, I stood with a candle in my hands before a table, on which lay the dead man, and listened senselessly to the bass sing-song of the deacon, interrupted from time to time by the weak voice of the priest. The tears kept streaming over my cheeks, my lips, my collar, my shirtfront. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

How to characterize oneself while dying - superfluous
The narrator of this book, the "author" of the diary is a man anticipating death within a week.Chulkaturin is alone - only an old woman caring for him - facing death without family or friends.He begins writing a diary, an accounting of his life. What begins as a biography beginning with his childhood, becomes the narration of a single event, an event he believes illustrates beyond all doubt that he is a "superfluous man".This event is a one-sided love for a girl just becoming a woman.In this story Turgenev presents us with alienation - 1850's Russian style.For those of us raised on existential alienation, this book is an excellent reminder that alienation is a far more universal literary theme - a theme well executed in this book.

Russian Classic
Turgenev's novella about a dying 'superfluous' man . In a way, it's an update of Lermantov's "A Hero of Our Time" (without the tricky narrative structure) or Goethe's "Werther." Turgenev's story isnotable for its more humane perspective; he truly was the "greatestFrench novelist writing in Russian."

The only downside to thisvolume is its length: "Superfluous Man" is more of a long storyor novella than a book in and of itself. Look instead for a collection. ... Read more

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I was living at the time in Petersburg and had only just left the University. My brother was a lieutenant in the horse-guard artillery. His battery was stationed at Krasnoe Selo?it was summer time. ... Read more

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1885. Turgenieff (Turgenev), novelist, poet, and playwright, known for his detailed descriptions about everyday live in Russia in the 19th century, portrayed realistically the peasantry and the rising intelligentsia in its attempt to move the country into a new age. Contents: The Burgomaster; Jermolai and the Miller's Wife; Birouk; Malinova; Death; Lgove; The Office; Karataief; Lebediana; Tchertapkanof and Nedopouskine; The Prairie; The Two Proprietors; Kor and Kalinitch; The Singers; The Hamlet of the District of Tchigri; The Rendezvous; Tatiana Borissovna and Her Nephew; The District Doctor; Kaciane; My Neighbor Radislof; The Odnodvoretz; and The Forest and the Steppe. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing. ... Read more