Fathers and Sons

One of the most acclaimed Russian works of literature, Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev is a philosophical fiction cutting across a wide-ranging spectrum of societal institutions. The novel depicts a generational conflict between the Russian aristocrats (fathers) and the radicals (sons) that painted a political and social portrait of nineteenth-century Russia. When the character of Bazarov expresses dissent against authority and social conventions at his friend Arkady's place, a fire of misunderstandings and quarrel breaks out, leading to a revolution. Bazarov established a nihilistic temperament and an ardent rejection of authority, which provoked controversies over Turgenev's head. The novel not only remains a Russian classic but endows a possibility for families today to empathise with the symbol of 'fathers' and 'sons' in ideology. The novel's narrative is driven by existential tones and influenced by political calamities. The novel is the first Russian work to gain prominence in the Western world, followed by Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky.