| Diary of a Superfluous Man Contributor(s): Turgenev, Ivan (Author), Patterson, David (Translator) |
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ISBN: 0393319202 ISBN-13: 9780393319200 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company OUR PRICE: $10.76 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: July 1999 Annotation: Set in a corner of nineteenth-century Russian society, Diary of a Superfluous Man is the poignant story of a man's struggle to find meaning in his experiences. A clerk named Chulkaturin, nearing the end of his life, writes in his diary, "I have nothing against happiness; in fact I have tried to approach it from every angle." Yet things never worked out right for Chulkaturin. Afraid of expressing his thoughts, insecure, self-preoccupied, he not only was unable to win the woman he loved but also stood in the way of her happiness as well. When Turgenev published Diary of a Superfluous Man in 1850, he depicted a life in which the tragic and the foolish intertwine. Failure as a lover, along with painful self-consciousness, is a central fact for the ailing Chulkaturin, and we are given here one of the first literary portraits of the alienated man. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Classics - Fiction | Literary |
| Dewey: FIC |
| LCCN: 83023691 |
| Physical Information: 0.28" H x 5.46" W x 8.2" (0.27 lbs) 80 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1851-1899 - Cultural Region - Eastern Europe - Cultural Region - Russia |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: When Turgenev published Diary of a Superfluous Man in 1850, he created one of the first literary portraits of the alienated man. Turgenev once said that there was a great deal of himself in the unsuccessful lovers who appear in his fiction. This failure, along with painful self-consciousness, is a central fact for the ailing Chulkaturin in this melancholy tale. As he reflects on his life, he tells the story of Liza, whom he loved, and a prince, whom she loved instead, and the curious turns all their lives took. |
Contributor Bio(s): Patterson, David: - David Patterson is professor of English at Oklahoma State University and translator of Tolstoy's The Forged Coupon, also available in Norton paperback. |