Diary Of A Superfluous Man Paperback by Ivan Turgenev;David Patterson;David Patterson

Product Details

• Publisher: WW Norton (1999-07-06)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 80 pages
• ISBN-13: 9780393319200
• Item Weight: 117.94 grams
• Dimensions: 20.83 x 13.97 x 0.76 cm

A vivid picture of nineteenth-century Russian society, but above all the poignant story of a man whose mortality becomes the only aspect of life that he shares with his fellow man.

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.

About the Author

David Patterson is professor of English at Oklahoma State University and translator of Tolstoy's The Forged Coupon, also available in Norton paperback.