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Good book. nossy Send a noteboard - 17/10/2010 06:37:16 PM
Bazarov annoyed me in the beginning/middle. I liked the way Turgenev wrote him, into the position of seeming not to notice the hypocrisy of his beliefs until the Odintsova sequence played itself out.

Some of it made me curious. Ie: when Bazarov comments that a botanist wouldn't study every birch tree, so why should one study every human to find the inevitably absent differences -- is Turgenev truly behind the idea that a scientist can learn all he knows about birch from one tree? Because that's not at all accurate, and I found myself trusting that the author knew that a scientist would indeed study multiple examples of the same tree to learn. It gave me an interesting perspective on Bazarov, at any rate. That type of thing happened to me several times, and another example is the "enigmatic eye" story, and Bazarov's assertion that that was simply romanticism and rot (referencing the anatomy of the eyeball). I have to admit that I enjoyed his uncomfortable evolution during the times with Odintsova. Particularly the section where he thinks about her "proud lips," "intelligent eyes," and wanting her to "look upon him with tenderness." Nice.

Odintsova also bothered me. I tend to want to give her the benefit of the doubt (seems she was preconditioned in her opinion of men, which makes sense, given her age/experience), but I dislike women who trap men. I think my benefit of the doubt is due to not being able to decide whether she knew what she actually felt. Maybe her own revelation was something like Bazarov's - she didn't see it coming, because she'd previously cared about nothing and "was going nowhere." She does later mention that talking/being with him is like walking the edge of a precipice, so maybe that comment is meant to be more about her having no idea how to deal with her own feelings than about Bazarov's personality.

I liked the resolution, though I'm not glad B killed himself. I was not surprised, but it seemed a little too... easy. I was annoyed that because his stance came up against a wall, he decided to leave. Or, well, if it is correct that his end was his choice. Seemed so, to me. At any rate, jumping into the autopsy was a rash decision.

Edit: eh, that sounds too much like I never gained any respect for Bazarov, which is not the case. I felt physical anger when O denied him. I enjoyed reading his change/growing towards the end, post duel and all. We get to see him experience and struggle with emotion, and it all means more after we've seen the scene with O.
This message last edited by nossy on 17/10/2010 at 07:09:05 PM
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Russian Book Club: Fathers and Sons by Turgenev. - 17/10/2010 01:39:16 AM 995 Views
Bazarov - 17/10/2010 02:12:03 PM 818 Views
never mind *NM* - 17/10/2010 02:15:16 PM 339 Views
The novel is very interested in inter-generational issues. - 17/10/2010 05:28:29 PM 718 Views
Re: The novel is very interested in inter-generational issues. - 17/10/2010 11:59:37 PM 799 Views
oh, and - 17/10/2010 06:42:38 PM 706 Views
Re: oh, and - 18/10/2010 12:09:10 AM 689 Views
I like the way you said that - 19/10/2010 05:31:05 AM 729 Views
Re: I like the way you said that - 19/10/2010 09:24:00 AM 684 Views
I had pretty much the same reaction as you. - 22/10/2010 07:05:37 PM 764 Views
Arkady - 17/10/2010 02:15:54 PM 677 Views
Well, that makes sense - 17/10/2010 05:12:09 PM 674 Views
Re: Well, that makes sense - 18/10/2010 12:04:05 AM 688 Views
According to a footnote in my (Dutch) copy... - 18/10/2010 10:55:22 PM 702 Views
Ясень and ясный - 18/10/2010 11:41:24 PM 697 Views
See, I liked Arkady - 17/10/2010 06:08:57 PM 617 Views
Re: See, I liked Arkady - 18/10/2010 12:13:49 AM 659 Views
hm. - 18/10/2010 01:06:44 AM 758 Views
Re: hm. - 18/10/2010 11:46:23 AM 888 Views
Re: hm. - 19/10/2010 05:38:02 AM 717 Views
Re: See, I liked Arkady - 18/10/2010 10:51:59 PM 657 Views
Re: Arkady - 22/10/2010 07:09:14 PM 700 Views
Oh...Rebekah, I was going to mention that I saw your post only much later because I was very drunk. - 17/10/2010 05:13:41 PM 697 Views
Heh, no worries. - 18/10/2010 11:07:00 AM 635 Views
Good book. - 17/10/2010 06:37:16 PM 719 Views
Agreed. - 18/10/2010 11:55:11 AM 797 Views
Re: Agreed. - 19/10/2010 06:02:18 AM 719 Views
Re: Agreed. - 19/10/2010 09:26:25 AM 632 Views
I didn't think Odintsova trapped him. - 18/10/2010 11:03:37 PM 692 Views
Re: I didn't think Odintsova trapped him. - 18/10/2010 11:31:40 PM 758 Views
Re: I didn't think Odintsova trapped him. - 19/10/2010 05:13:26 AM 689 Views
I think you might be overanalyzing the birch tree statement. - 18/10/2010 11:45:12 PM 656 Views
I disagree - 19/10/2010 05:27:07 AM 692 Views
I loved it. Great book. - 18/10/2010 10:49:27 PM 651 Views
Re: I loved it. Great book. - 18/10/2010 11:33:42 PM 630 Views
I think it's very relevant. It's also unusually un-Russian. - 18/10/2010 11:54:03 PM 622 Views
Yeah... the Russian nobility at the time seems to have been kind of un-Russian, really. - 20/10/2010 04:03:34 PM 684 Views
It felt very Russian to me as well - 20/10/2010 04:12:50 PM 629 Views
I really wish I'd bought a properly annotated version. - 22/10/2010 07:07:16 PM 727 Views
The answer to that is to just read a great book on Nineteenth Century Russian history. - 22/10/2010 10:55:06 PM 705 Views
Can you recommend one? - 22/10/2010 10:55:56 PM 984 Views
"One" is where it starts to get harder. - 23/10/2010 01:45:03 AM 716 Views
Nikolai and Pavel - I love them. - 22/10/2010 07:14:11 PM 804 Views
Perhaps it's Pavel's "The Chap"-ish nature that makes the novel seem less Russian to me. - 22/10/2010 10:53:56 PM 766 Views
Ah, that's a good point. - 22/10/2010 10:54:56 PM 640 Views
The women - 22/10/2010 07:18:45 PM 736 Views

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