Oblomov
by Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ivan Aleksandrovich GoncharovTranslator: Stephen Pearl
Introduction: Galya Diment
Foreword: Tat'iana Tolstaia
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-10-12
ISBN: 1933480092
Number of pages: 443
Publisher: Bunim & Bannigan Ltd
Book Reviews of Oblomov
Book Review: A memorable player in the Human Comedy
Summary: 4 Stars
If life, as Balzac asserts, is a human comedy, then Oblomov has a memorable role in it. His existential question is not whether to be or not to be, as Hamlet advises, but rather to act or not to act: "to stay or move on." Oblomov is a quietist: that is, he finds action, if not impossible, then ultimately futile. This question is asked again in Waiting for Godot when the two main players determine to go and remain frozen in their places as the curtain falls on the tragi-comedy. Goncharov's work articulates many masterful turns of phrase in this novel, often with almost unspeakable beauty and insight into the human comedy. A member of the landed gentry with an estate in the country, Oblomov discovers that life won't let you alone or leave you in peace, no matter where you live. Oblomov is a lost soul, like so many Russian novelists' protagonists. "Life catches you, there's no stopping it." He mourns how hard it is to lead a simple life. At a time just before the fall of serfdom in Russia he views the elite as "living dead" who waste their lives in salons playing cards. We find hints of Gogol who was so germinal in his influence of Russian novelists who followed him. Oblomov's utopia is full of peace and quiet but he can never find it. Great line: "With me love is stronger than fear." Another: "This brooding of yours...is really a sign of strength. Sometimes an active questing mind tries to probe beyond normal limits and, of course, finds no answers...a deep frustration with life not yielding up its secrets...It leads you to the abyss from which there are no answers to be had and forces you to cherish life even more warmly...The alternative would be a life without questioning...It's a malaise of mankind." Another: "Don't let providence overhear you complaining or it might take it as evidence of ingratitude. Providence doesn't like it when its blessings are not appreciated." The patient reader will find many profound and moving expressions of Goncharev's perception of the human comedy. The exposition at the outset is daunting and the character development seems far too long in places. The pre-press proofing was annoyingly sloppy in this edition in a couple dozen places: maybe it's simply "oblomovshchina" on the part of the editor, in this case an Oxford scholar, but I expected better treatment by the publisher of this classic Russian novel. Your patience definitely will be rewarded with a memorable read of a truly great novel.
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