Smoke was published in 1867 and translated into English in 1896. It was written when Turgenev was based in Baden, amongst the resorts that were favoured by many Russians. The most cosmopolitan of all Turgenev's works Smoke sketches the intricacies of the aristocratic and Young Russia parties at a time when Russia was changing from the philosophical Nihilism of the 1860s to the more politically active Nihilism of the 1870s. An attack on all political parties and on the Russian nature of analysing everything but doing nothing ...
Read More
Smoke was published in 1867 and translated into English in 1896. It was written when Turgenev was based in Baden, amongst the resorts that were favoured by many Russians. The most cosmopolitan of all Turgenev's works Smoke sketches the intricacies of the aristocratic and Young Russia parties at a time when Russia was changing from the philosophical Nihilism of the 1860s to the more politically active Nihilism of the 1870s. An attack on all political parties and on the Russian nature of analysing everything but doing nothing, Smoke's success was immediate and great. Despite the pervasive politics in the book the two central characters, Litvinov and Irina, are not political figures. Litvinov is gentle, sympathetic and intelligent while Irina is one of the best examples of Turgenev's creation of woman. A mixture of irresistibility and innocence, will she manage to distract Litvinov from Tatyana, his fianc�e? Smoke was described by Edward Garnett in 1896 as 'the finest example in literature of a subjective psychological study of passion ... [and] a classic for all time'.
Read Less
Add this copy of Ivan Turgenev: Smoke to cart. $27.32, good condition, Sold by Anybook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincoln, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2008 by Faber And Faber.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has soft covers. Clean from markings. In good all round condition. Library sticker on front cover. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 500grams, ISBN: 9780571244522.
Add this copy of Smoke to cart. $30.26, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2008 by Faber Finds.
Add this copy of Smoke to cart. $45.52, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Faber and Faber.
If you want to know what it was like to be in a Rhine gambling resort in the mid 19th century read Smoke.
The mix of people could no doubt be seen in modern Las Vegas but without Russian aristocrats, Lenin saw to that!
Turgenev is a master writer, this is I think not his best work, I like "Sportsmans Sketches" this is a personal thing, but this is like saying the modern Rolls Royce is not as good as the old ones, they are all brilliant.
Turgenev, a most human man, put Russian writers on the word map, they never left it since.