Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

 “We sit in the mud, my friend, and reach for the stars.”

― Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons

Hello Bibliophile there,

I am again here with one onther book review.

This time it is directly from the Russian canon. 

Let me take you on a little journey through Fathers and Sons, a classic Russian novel written by Ivan Turgenev in 1862. But don’t let the date scare you! This book may be old, but it talks about things we still deal with today like generation gaps, changing beliefs, and finding our place in the world. There’s mud around us, the mess of society, emotions, expectations. And yet, somewhere, we still reach, question, rebel. I didn’t just read this novel; I felt it. Especially through the eyes of  Bazarov.

Turgenev’s novel beautifully shows the generation gap. On one side, there are men like Nikolai and Pavel Petrovich gentle, emotional, lovers of poetry and tradition. On the other side are young men like Bazarov and Arkady, who want to tear down the old and build something new.

But this gap isn’t just a difference of opinion it’s a deep wound. The fight between Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov makes this clear. Pavel is proud and old-fashioned. He values honor, romance, social order. Bazarov mocks him openly. Their arguments are sharp, almost painful. At one point, they even fight a duel not over love, but over ideas. It feels absurd, and that’s the point. Their battle is useless. Neither convinces the other. Both walk away bruised. And yet, both are somehow trapped in their own beliefs.

Bazarov is not an easy character to love, and that’s exactly why I did. He walks into Arkady’s quiet country home like a storm. He doesn’t care about manners or opinions. He laughs at poetry, mocks emotions, and sees people as bundles of habits and biology. He calls himself a nihilist not in a dramatic, hopeless way, but in the sense that he doesn’t believe in anything that can’t be proven.

Amid all this, the most touching part of the novel for me was the relationship between Bazarov and Arkady. At first, they’re inseparable. Arkady looks up to Bazarov like a hero. He repeats his ideas, copies his attitude. I’ve been that person too admiring someone who seems so sure, so bold. But slowly, Arkady begins to change. He softens. He falls in love. He starts to appreciate things Bazarov rejects.

Their friendship begins to fade, not because of a big fight, but because they’re growing in different directions. And that’s what makes it so real. There’s a quiet sadness when Bazarov realizes Arkady is no longer his shadow. He pretends not to care but we can feel it.

Then comes Anna Odintsova. The woman who quietly breaks Bazarov. She is smart, calm, beautiful and distant. He tries to keep control, but he falls for her. When he confesses his love, and she says nothing, we see Bazarov’s mask crack. For someone who doesn’t believe in love, rejection hits harder. Pretending not to care is easy until something or someone proves that you do. For Bazarov, this moment changes everything. He becomes quieter, more lost. Even his attempt to kiss Thenichka another moment of confusion and weakness shows he is no longer sure of anything.

In the end, Bazarov dies. Not dramatically, but quietly, from an illness he catches while working as a doctor. He dies as he lived alone, proud, misunderstood. But before his final breath, he calls for Anna. He wants to see her once. Not to declare love, but simply to feel human one last time.

Turgenev doesn’t glorify or punish Bazarov just like Hardy did with Sue in the Jude the Obscure. He simply shows him to us strong, stubborn, brilliant, but fragile. Through him, we see the pain of being too ahead of your time. The cost of rejecting everything. The loneliness of living by reason alone.

If you’re someone who questions the world, who struggles to balance heart and mind, or who has ever felt caught between two ways of living then Fathers and Sons is a book you must read. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys deep, thoughtful stories especially readers interested in philosophy, emotion, and the quiet pain of growing up.

Thank you for your precious time.