This book gives an illustration of the contrast in ideas and attitudes between older and younger generations, between experience and enthusiasm, between abstract thinking and the ability to recognize the limits of reality. Also, it also explores how members of the younger generation learn, eventually, to accept reality as it is when it collides with their pet theories. It is not a plot-heavy novel, but more of a slice of life type of novel, where the author presents various interactions and conversations among the characters during one summer when the sons return home from university. The book was written in the 1860's, but the clash between the generations is timeless.
I first became interested in Turgenev's work after hearing this talk given by Isaiah Berlin, on Turgenev's short story <i>Fire At Sea</i>.
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