This might be the right book but in the right time kind of reading. Didn't connect at all with the story and don't really remember what I have read. Maybe I'll pick it up again in a later date but as nothing about it sparked any interest I don't know if I'll ever be tempted

Proof positive that slacker generations existed long before gen X were a twinkle in their collective parents eyes. First off: This is really three books. Secondly: This is a work that had such an influence in Russian culture that it spawned oblomov as a verb (to endlessly put something off), and oblomovitis- a state of indecision and lethargy. It was even used in the Russian parliament.

Goncharov took so long to finish his novel, that he really was three disparate people during the course of his writing. The first act is hilarious. A masterful, swiftly moving sketch of the titular Oblomov that begs to be turned into a one act play by someone more talented than I am.

The second act is slower and becomes a comedy of manners that is almost a Russian (and decidedly masculine) Jane Austen tribute with a side order of domestic melodrama. The third act slows even further. Goncharov seems to have been meditating on what it takes to make a worthwhile life and a long term relationship, and the work becomes even more didactic than it has already been.

The ending comes with a twist which I feel undercut the body of the work in a huge way. Desperately avoiding spoilers here- but goddamn. This was a long read for me because I was desperately putting off some big life decisions and this satire of the ultimate prevaricator cut waaaaay too close to home.

A good, worthwhile and very Russian read.

P.S I had a (not so) tiny voice in my head all the way through that was begging for a socialist uprising.

68/100
"O questa vita io non l'ho compresa o essa non serve a niente, e una migliore non l'ho vista nè conosciuta, nessuno me l'ha mostrata. Tu apparivi e scomparivi, come una cometa luminosa, fulminea, e io dimenticavo tutto e mi spegnevo..."
Oblomov come stile di vita

Oblomov - Ivan Goncarov

Questo romanzo parla della condizione di Oblomov, uomo che non riesce a fare nulla, per quanto nella sua mente abbia molti progetti da realizzare. Questa sua inettitudine però è data anche dalla sua condizione sociale. Lui è di discendenza nobile, non ha mai dovuto lavorare e nemmeno mettersi le scarpe da solo. Per questo motivo egli non ha mai avuto bisogno di agire, erano gli altri che lo facevano per lui, e anche i suoi ideali di vita rispecchiano molto la condizione della vecchia aristocrazia che sogna di avere una grande villa in campagna in cui non dover far altro che stare sdraiati tutto il giorno. Oltre a rappresentare una classe sociale e un’epoca, però, Oblomov rappresenta un po’ anche ognuno di noi, con i nostri desideri mai realizzati e la nostra pigrizia che più o meno ci condiziona nella vita. Questo personaggio è in una condizione di inerzia data soprattutto dai suoi pensieri sulla società e sulla vita, di cui lui percepisce la mancanza di senso, e quindi di uno scopo. Le sue analisi della realtà attorno a lui sono acute quanto deprimenti, lo lasciano senza via d’uscita da questa vita che si è creato, ma sono anche molto condivisibili. Ha persone intorno che cercano di risvegliarlo da questo suo sonno dell’anima, ma potete immaginare come andrà a finire. Libro un po’ lento, che per questo motivo non mi ha sbalordita come avrei voluto, ma rimane una lettura in cui mi sono ritrovata tantissimo e che analizza perfettamente una condizione morale comune a molti (me compresa) anche se meno fortemente che in questo personaggio.
Consiglio molto la lettura perché penso che ognuno di noi vi si possa ritrovare in questo magnifico personaggio.

Loved it from start to finish. The story of a man who despite being well-educated, well-liked, fairly rich and not having to work to earn any money, is incapable of making any decisions or doing anything and spends most of his time in bed. His mind was busy when he was at university but all of the knowledge he acquired became useless in the real world and he couldn’t apply any of it, he was just left with the awareness that he there was so much to learn, and that he had the capacity to do so-an awareness that is not very useful if you are lazy and prone to becoming paralysed by such a task. He knows that the less he does and the more he allows himself to ‘rest’ and ‘think’, the worse he feels but he still does it anyway. There is nothing more disheartening than relating to the thoughts of a someone who is meant to be a satire of the Russian intelligentsia and is ultimately described as lazy and superfluous. Despite his character flaws his life doesn’t stop. He is repeatedly told he needs a change of environment, to read, to love, to busy himself, and when he does these things he can’t imagine who he used to live in the way he did but he always ultimately goes back to his Oblomovism. The idea of having to stand still until your affairs are in order and you’ve figured out how to live, until you become crippled in an existential crisis doesn’t sound very funny, but somehow it is.

I loved how when the different characters fell in love, their life didn’t stop. It wasn’t all consuming or toxic but always acted as a beautiful way to delve into their character flaws and philosophical viewpoints in such a natural way. For example, characters not thinking they are good enough to be loved, characters realising that the initial excitement from love couldn’t transform them into a better person, unintentional self-sabotage and simply becoming bored of each other.

One of my new favourites.

“My life began by flickering out. It may sound strange but it is so. From the very first moment I became conscious of myself, I felt that I was already flickering out…Either I have not understood this sort of life or it is utterly worthless; but I did not know of a better one. No one showed it to me.”

The first half of the book is amazing, things get a bit flat when Oblomov leaves the house. but this is still undeniably great and it's very funny. Zakhar. The best.

Okudukça hayatımıza yeni kavramlar girer, eğer o kavramları etkili bir şekilde kullanmazsak onlar bir süre sonra zihnimizden çekilip giderler. Fakat bu kitap bittiğinde literatürünüze bir kavram dahil olacak ve ömrünüzce de başucunuzda sizi gözleyip dilinize dolanacaktır. Bu kavram "Oblomov'luk"tur ; size detaylıca açıklama gereği duymuyorum. Çünkü eğer merak ediyorsanız zaten bir an önce bu kitabı alır okursunuz. Fakat mutlaka kendinizden bir parça karakter analizi yapacağınızdan emin olabilirsiniz. Oblomov karakterine atıfta bulunarak söyleyebileceğim en etkili açıklama; O mutlu bir tembel değildir, zihni uyanık ve sürekli çatışma halinde olan bir çaresizdir. Yani elinden geldiğince "Oblomov'luk" yapıyor.
(Alt not: Roman bir miktar kısa olabilirdi, biraz uzatıldığını düşünüyorum.)