Oblomov

New, award-winning translation of Goncharov's popular masterpiece. First published in 1859, Oblomov is an indisputable classic of Russian literature, comparable in its stature to such masterpieces as Gogol's Dead Souls, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov. The book centres on the figure of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, a member of the dying class of the landed gentry, who spends most of his time lying in bed gazing at life in an apathetic daze, encouraged by his equally lazy servant Zakhar and routinely swindled by his acquaintances. But this torpid existence comes to an end when, spurred on by his crumbling finances, the love of a woman and the reproaches of his friend, the hard-working Stoltz, Oblomov finds that he must engage with the real world and face up to his commitments. Rich in situational comedy, psychological complexity and social satire, Oblomov - here presented in Stephen Pearl's award-winning translation, the first major English-language version of the novel in more than fifty years - is a timeless novel and a monument to human idleness. .

Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov (1812-1891) was a Russian novelist who achieved literary fame later in life, after a career in the civil-service which spanned more than thirty years. His first novel, «A Common Story», was a definitive success and his notoriety was cemented with the publication of his second novel, «Oblomov», in 1850. Based on a short story written a year prior, «Oblomov» is about a cultured, intelligent, upper middle class man experiencing a mid-life crisis. Ilya Ilyich Oblomov has sunk into a lethargic stupor, which he calls «Oblomovism,» and spends the majority of his time lying on the sofa or in bed. Goncharov portrays beautifully the process of Oblomov's decline, as well as its consequences, at first through flashbacks and then through the intervention of Andrey Stoltz, a man quite the opposite of Oblomov. The novel was revered for its brutal but honest representation of the slothfulness of the Russian gentry, and has become a timeless classic of Russian and psychological fiction. .

New, award-winning translation of Goncharov's popular masterpiece. First published in 1859, Oblomov is an indisputable classic of Russian literature, comparable in its stature to such masterpieces as Gogol's Dead Souls, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov. The book centres on the figure of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, a member of the dying class of the landed gentry, who spends most of his time lying in bed gazing at life in an apathetic daze, encouraged by his equally lazy servant Zakhar and routinely swindled by his acquaintances. But this torpid existence comes to an end when, spurred on by his crumbling finances, the love of a woman and the reproaches of his friend, the hard-working Stoltz, Oblomov finds that he must engage with the real world and face up to his commitments. Rich in situational comedy, psychological complexity and social satire, Oblomov - here presented in Stephen Pearl's award-winning translation, the first major English-language version of the novel in more than fifty years - is a timeless novel and a monument to human idleness. .