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Translated by Constance Garnett.
To be read before Home of the Gentry.
Available at Librivox:

In this novel Turgenev has a message to convey. Some people talk very, very well, but when it comes to taking an action and actually doing something, they fail. The book looks at how we view such people. They can incite other people to action even if they lack the ability themselves. Eloquence is exhilarating; it moves others. Conversely, not having the courage to act oneself can in some situations be viewed as a failing. There is the gist of the novel.

Who ends up getting married and whom they choose is another theme.

One can read the book for its character studies of the following people:
*Dmitrii Nikolaevich Rudin
*Natal’ya Alekseevna Lasunskaya (Natasha)
*Dar’ya Mikhailovna Lasunskaya
*Mihailo Mihailych Lezhnev
*Aleksandra Pavlovna Lipina
*Sergei Pavlovich Volyntsev
*Konstantin Diomidych Pandalevskii
*Afrikan Semenych Pigasov
*Basistov
I typed the names out, so I had them before me as I listened to the story. This is my method of dealing with Russian names! I scribble down what I learn about each as the story progresses.

Did I come to care for the characters? No, actually, I didn’t, and this explains why I do not give the book more stars. I know who they are and I understand why each one acts as they do, but I feel no attachment to them, except maybe for Natal’ya. To her I feel a connection; I know I would do as she does.

I like very much Turgenev’s description of nature. The translation is easy to follow, and there are lines packed with wisdom concerning how people relate to each other. For example, that mothers and daughters rarely see eye to eye and that young people often want to draw easy, simple, pat conclusions.

The book feels very Russian to me. One recognizes the strong attachment to one’s country and how friends accept failings in one another.

Lee Smalley narrates the audio version of the story at Librivox. His narration I have given three stars. It took a while for me to get used to his narration. I began to recognize how he pronounced the characters� names. It isn’t easy to quickly snap up the three to four different names each Russian character has. The speed isn’t too fast once you recognize who is who. The French spoken is not good, but it is stated in the text that the character did not speak French fluently. The narration is fine, but nothing exceptional. I wouldn’t object to listening to this narrator again, which is in fact a vote of confidence.

I like this book. It never bored me, but neither do I love it, so I have given it three stars.

*

*Fathers & Sons 4 stars
*Torrents of Spring 3 stars
*First Love 3 stars
*Rudin 3 stars
*Home of the Gentry 3 stars