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Sue's Reviews > A House of Gentlefolk
A House of Gentlefolk
by
by
A very Russian novel which I liked for its lightly satirical descriptions of several characters and situations as well as for its descriptions of the land and people themselves. The story of love in Russian novels is fraught with all types of angst and problems. This House is no different. I believe I will try another Turgenev, perhaps Fathers and Sons.
Read with The Obscure Book Group here at GR. And, somewhat fittingly, my copy was published in 1932, borrowed from a local school library, the only copy of this book in my library consortium.
Read with The Obscure Book Group here at GR. And, somewhat fittingly, my copy was published in 1932, borrowed from a local school library, the only copy of this book in my library consortium.
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A House of Gentlefolk.
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Reading Progress
May 27, 2022
–
Started Reading
May 27, 2022
– Shelved
May 27, 2022
– Shelved as:
fiction
May 27, 2022
– Shelved as:
russia
May 28, 2022
–
8.36%
"“Lemm’s exterior was not prepossessing. He was short and bent, with crooked shoulders…bluish white nails on the gnarled bony fingers of his sinewy red hands. He had a wrinkled face, sunken cheeks…an impression almost sinister� But any one who was able to get over the first impression would have discerned something good, and honest out of this half-shattered creature.�"
page
26
May 28, 2022
–
12.54%
"Lavretsky certainly did not look like the victim of fate. His rosy-cheeked typical Russian face, with its large white brow, rather thick nose, and wide straight lips seemed breathing with the wild health of the steppes, with vigorous primaeval energy�. It was only in his blue eyes, with their over-hanging brows and somewhat fixed look, that one could trace an expression not exactly of melancholy, nor..of weariness"
page
39
May 28, 2022
–
15.11%
"Ivan..father of Fedor..was not brought up at home, but lived with a rich old maiden aunt.. she had fixed on him for her heir.. She..engaged all kinds of teachers for him, and put him in charge of a tutor..and finished by marrying this “fine fleur�..making over all her property to him.. Ivan had only reached his twentieth year when this unexpected blow(we mean the princess’s marriage not her death) fell upon him"
page
47
May 28, 2022
–
22.19%
"In the society of this governess, his aunt, and the old servant� Fedya spent four whole years� .in the low pitched room, the solitary candle burnt dim, the cricket chirped monotonously, as though it were weary, the little clock ticked away hurriedly on the wall…and the three old women, like the Fates, swiftly and silently plied their knitting needles..and strange, half dark ideas swarmed in the child’s brain."
page
69
May 29, 2022
–
26.05%
"Pavel Petrovitch knew how to gain a footing in society; he spoke little, but, from old habit, condescendingly—though, of course, not when he was talking to persons of a higher rank than his own. He played cards carefully; ate moderately at home, but consumed enough for six at parties."
page
81
May 29, 2022
–
26.69%
"Varvara Pavlovna..was so self-possessed and easily cordial that everyone at once felt at home in her presence; besides, about all her fascinating person, her smiling eyes, her faultlessly sloping shoulders and rosy-tinged white hands, her light and yet languid movements, the very sound of her voice, slow and sweet, there was an impalpable, subtle charm, like a faint perfume..something..hard to translate into words.."
page
83
May 30, 2022
–
35.05%
"Leaning back…Lavretsky watched..the fresh fertile wilderness and solitude of this steppe country, the greenness, the long slopes, and valleys with stunted oak bushes, the grey villages, and scant birch trees,—the whole Russian landscape, so long unseen by him, stirred emotion at once pleasant, sweet and almost painful in his heart,and he felt weighed down by a kind of pleasant oppression."
page
109
May 31, 2022
–
37.62%
"The traces of human life very quickly pass away; Glafira Petrovna’s estate had not had time to become quite wild, but already it seemed plunged in that quiet slumber in which everything reposes on earth where there is not the infection of man’s restlessness."
page
117
May 31, 2022
–
52.41%
"he lightly pressed Lisa’s hand and said, ‘I think we are friends now, aren’t we?� She nodded…and the coach rolled away� Lavretsky turned homeward� The witchery of the summer night enfolded him; all around him seemed suddenly so strange—and at the same time so long known, so sweetly familiar. Everywhere near and far.. all was at peace; youthful, blossoming life seemed expressed in this deep peace."
page
163
May 31, 2022
–
62.38%
"Lavretsky arrived at the Kalitins�..and found..the preparations for an evening service. In..the dining-room on a square table covered with a clean cloth were..arranged..the small holy pictures, in gold frames, set with tarnished jewels� Lavretsky..asked if it was some one’s name-day.
In a whisper they told him..that the..service had been arranged by Lisaveta.. and Marfa.. to invite a wonder-working image�"
page
194
In a whisper they told him..that the..service had been arranged by Lisaveta.. and Marfa.. to invite a wonder-working image�"
May 31, 2022
–
82.64%
"Varvara Pavlovna..had a ready answer for everything; she never hesitated, never doubted..anything� All her ideas..her feelings revolved round Paris. Panshin turned the conversation upon literature; it seemed that, like himself, she read only French books. George Sand drove her to exasperation, Balzac she respected, but he wearied her.. Dumas..she adored. To tell the truth, literature had no great interest for her."
page
257
May 31, 2022
–
Finished Reading
June 10, 2022
– Shelved as:
read-2022
Comments Showing 1-8 of 8 (8 new)
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by
Diane
(new)
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rated it 3 stars
Jun 01, 2022 10:12AM
I didn't like this one at all, but then I haven't read a whole lot of Russian literature so it's meaning may just be escaping me. I found it a little too melodramatic for my tastes.
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I did like the prose, more than I expected to actually. I always enjoy snide comments. The melodrama I expected. I also was surprised by how easily it read.
Thanks for sharing all these quotes that popped for you as you went along. Many of the same ones drew my particular attention too. It really was lovely prose, and the snide comments were delicious. :)
I’m glad you found them, Sara. I just had to put them in the updates. That’s what I often use the update function for. And I thought some of views of the country were well done too. But I do love the snide comments. The liven up the story..or did so for me.
You liked this one much better than I did. I think Russian literature might require a mood I am not in at the moment. I found this one just less engaging than others I have read. For Turgenev, I enjoyed Fathers and Sons much, much more.
I think I was in the perfect mood for this…whatever that mood might be! And I enjoyed reading a real book again after using my kindle almost exclusively for quite a while now. I plan to read Fathers and Sons eventually.
Yes, try Fathers and Sons, a very good read (never mind that I disliked the protagonist). Turgenev seems to me the least stormy and most engaging of the great Russian novelists.
Thanks Jim. I definitely plan to though I’m not sure when. I did like how this book read and found it was easier to “enjoy� than other Russian novels, however much I may have liked them.
