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I re-read Fathers and Sons for a couple reasons; 1) I have been on a small Rereading Great Russian Novels kick the last couple years and 2) I was interested in what the book might have to say about the relationships between fathers and sons. As to #1, this novel was the first Great Russian Novel to achieve international fame, paving the way for—in my estimation—greater works from Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, but it’s also pretty legitimately great in its own right. As to #2, I think it’s less actually about father and son relationships than generational cultural, political and philosophical differences in the Russia of the time [though I just read Brian Friel's play adaptation of the novel, and that does a better job--in the shorter space--of focusing on those "generation gaps."]

The book features a youngish nihilist botanist Bazarov who asserts that he basically believes in nothing (which puts him somewhat to the left of anarchism, and well left of pragmatism, two lively nineteenth century sort of anti-philosophical frameworks for living) and who is completely engaging—if not all that likable. This character in particular set off a firestorm of critique from the right (who saw it as an attack on traditional Russian humane values because they thought Turgenev approved of Bazarov) and the left, especially nihilists, (who thought Turgenev denounced/satirized Bazarov).

Turgenev, who was interested in depicting with a kind of social realism the Russia of mid-nineteenth century, was not interested in didacticism or political essays. His goal was to write a novel with complex characters, and in my opinion, pulls it off! He admitted he was fond of Bazarov as one of his characters, but disavowed any association with his cynical ideas. And when we see the chinks in Bazarov’s cynical armor, we get to like him a little. A little. But he’s never a dull character.

Bazarov is kind of (Lee, in a review I recall from weeks ago, calls him) a nineteenth century punk, anti-social, anti-arts, who puts more faith in rationalism and science than metaphysics or grand theories. As he says, “What's important is that twice two is four and all the rest's nonsense.� He prefers to debunk ideas more than anything else. While he says “first let’s destroy everything, raze it to the ground, and we’ll worry about re-building later,� he’s really too lazy to do any of the actual razing. He’s a sort of slacker, a puppy, all bark.

Bazarov accompanies a follower, fellow university student Arkady, to his summer home, when the freeing of the serfs was slowly taking place (about the time slaves were being freed in the US). Arkady mainly just agrees with everything Bazarov says. Has a kind of man-crush on him, but he has no ideas of his own. Arkady’s Dad Nikolai and his uncle Pavel, old school humanists who want to Do Good in the World, are exasperated by these new-fangled ideas.

Though Bazarov is the most memorable central character, my favorite character in the book is Uncle Pavel, for sure (Lee calls him a metro-sexual, which works), who is sophisticated and common-sensical and thinks the young guys are talking like idiots. As he says of them, “The fact is that previously they were simply dunces and now they've suddenly become nihilists.�

So the young pups leave the uni for the country, run into a couple of bright and memorably strong-willed and articulate sisters, Katya and Anna, whom they promptly fall in love with, which takes the edge off their anti-idealism in a kind of comic way. In one memorable line, Bazarov, who is studying botany, remarks to Arkady about Anna: “What a magnificent body, how I should like to see it on the dissecting table.� Ha! There, Bazarov is proven right: biology, love/lust triumphs over philosophy and big fancypants ideas, go figure. Light comedy. But both the older and younger generations are gently lampooned.

When the boys return to Arkady’s place the uncle, Pavel, for some reasons (one involving a woman, the other politics) insists on dueling Bazarov, getting (lightly) wounded in the process, which is also a kind of comic story. Hot-headed men and their talk! Again, the Clash of Big Ideas comes down to two guys fighting (as if) to the death. Biology (testosterone) trumps philosophy. Again, light comedy, and Turgenev basically likes these folks.

The fathers/uncle and their liberal (as opposed to radical) ideas are not prominently featured in this book; they basically shut up and let the young turks blather on, though they also love them a great deal. Parents in this book love their crazy kids and just want them around (and to maybe shut up about all the radical talk already!): Just fall in love, have babies, and grow up! Family, father and son relations matter! So (spoiler alert?) love conquers all, and Arkady stops being all revolutionary and marries and reconnects with Dad, whew, back in the fold. But he was never a real radical, so no big surprise there.

I won’t tell you what happens to Bazarov, in the end, but I was surprised and liked it, too. I will say I liked the book quite a lot. You won’t forget Bazarov and Pavel. A classic that is also entertaining!