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A review by axl_oswaldo
The Diary of a Superfluous Man by Ivan Turgenev
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
<b>4.5 stars</b> rounded down
Wow! This reading experience was a big, good surprise, but now I just don't know how to start my review. To begin with, I am really amazed at how this story went from beginning to end, which is curious since I was not expecting <b>Diary of a Superfluous Man</b> to end up being a small but great masterpiece, much better than what I thought it would be based on my previous experiences reading this author.
An epistolary novella that portrays our main character—whose hard-to-pronounce name I can't remember, sorry—as a ‘superfluous’ man, at that point of a person’s life when someone is unsure about what might happen to them in the near future. Our protagonist, who decides to start a diary, is seriously ill, and that's why he starts writing about his illness, but suddenly he remembers one specific moment from his past, where a typical Turgenev love story took place.
It is not just the story that was genuinely beautiful, but also the style of writing, which is quite powerful and poetic so that you can feel you are also living the same story. Turgenev is following the same pattern of my previous reading experiences (<b>First Love</b> and <b>On the Eve</b>) in which he was mainly focused on developing the love story as well as the protagonist's thoughts and feelings – if this is so far my favorite Turgenev book is because of its plot, and at the same time, because you can really empathize with the main character, being palpable and real too.
This short piece of literature is definitely worth giving it a try, not only because of the story itself, but also because it has many incredible passages as well as remarkable moments that might make you think about your own life (your dreams, your goals, your fears, etc.), where you are so far and where you would like to be. Also, if you want to know what being a superfluous man means, you have here another reason to read this novella.
In short, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this book, I hope you can enjoy it as much as I did.
<i><b>While a man is living he is not conscious of his own life; it becomes audible to him, like a sound, after the lapse of time.</b></i>
Wow! This reading experience was a big, good surprise, but now I just don't know how to start my review. To begin with, I am really amazed at how this story went from beginning to end, which is curious since I was not expecting <b>Diary of a Superfluous Man</b> to end up being a small but great masterpiece, much better than what I thought it would be based on my previous experiences reading this author.
An epistolary novella that portrays our main character—whose hard-to-pronounce name I can't remember, sorry—as a ‘superfluous’ man, at that point of a person’s life when someone is unsure about what might happen to them in the near future. Our protagonist, who decides to start a diary, is seriously ill, and that's why he starts writing about his illness, but suddenly he remembers one specific moment from his past, where a typical Turgenev love story took place.
It is not just the story that was genuinely beautiful, but also the style of writing, which is quite powerful and poetic so that you can feel you are also living the same story. Turgenev is following the same pattern of my previous reading experiences (<b>First Love</b> and <b>On the Eve</b>) in which he was mainly focused on developing the love story as well as the protagonist's thoughts and feelings – if this is so far my favorite Turgenev book is because of its plot, and at the same time, because you can really empathize with the main character, being palpable and real too.
This short piece of literature is definitely worth giving it a try, not only because of the story itself, but also because it has many incredible passages as well as remarkable moments that might make you think about your own life (your dreams, your goals, your fears, etc.), where you are so far and where you would like to be. Also, if you want to know what being a superfluous man means, you have here another reason to read this novella.
In short, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this book, I hope you can enjoy it as much as I did.
<i><b>While a man is living he is not conscious of his own life; it becomes audible to him, like a sound, after the lapse of time.</b></i>