欧宝娱乐

I decided to read everything that Turgenev has ever written. I don't remember exactly when I came to this decision, but so far it has proved like a fantastic idea. I reckon that by the end of this year, I'll be able to see this little reading project of mine through. I'm really looking forward to it. The more I read of him, the more I see how Turgenev shaped European realism, how he influenced some of my favourite writers, such as Maupassant, Conrad, Leskovar, Kozarac and Gjalski. Every works of his that I read, fortifies my conviction and belief in Turgenev's genius. I love everything about Turgenev's works, from the themes to the writing style. Turgenev truly is a master of prose.

I've finished Diary of a Superfluous Man today. Like many of Turgenev's work, it centers around a tale of unfulfilled love. The protagonist of this story is a dying young man. With the death at his doorstep, our young protagonist recounts his life story. What is the most important thing in one's life? Probably love. What could be more important than love, right? The plot does focus heavily on the theme of love. As the protagonist retells his story, we learn more and more about him. He is an isolated individual, one that feels superfluous. It is easy to get frustrated with him, but it is even easier to understand him. For do we not all feel superfluous at times?

Our protagonist is in love with Liza who in turn is in love with a Prince. They are all unhappy in their own way. As the great master Tolstoy said, all happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. This is the case with the characters in this book. Speaking of Tolstoy, this tragic tale reminded me both of him and of Dostoevsky. The more I think of it, the more it seems to me that Dostoevsky borrowed heavily from this book while writing Brothers Karamazov. Likewise, Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich features a similar theme of a terminally ill man who retells his life. Should I mention Chekhov and his A Dreary Story (小泻褍褔薪邪褟 懈褋褌芯褉懈褟) a story about a man who because of his terminal illness is unable to establish a meaningful relationship with his stepdaughter and daughter?

For all its gloom, this story has funny moments. The fact that the protagonists worries about dying at first of April (because it just wouldn't be proper) was wonderfully ironic. A representative of the noble class, but the kind that can laugh at himself, our protagonist is both serious and sarcastic when he paints the society of this time. Still, this doesn't make the book uneven, quite on the contrary, this double view presents the reader with a fuller picture. The writing was superbly balanced, not a word felt obsolete. By the end of this book, I found myself moved beyond tears. I felt like I was directed toward forgiveness, and indeed perhaps it is one of the messages of this book. Notwithstanding all the sadness and isolation depicted, this book made me feel better. It made me feel like there is hope. It made me see that nobody is truly superfluous, albeit we all feel like that at times. Moreover, the characterization and the portrayal of characters was truly superb. You won't find masterpieces like this one too often. A true classic.