Reviews

First Love by Ivan Turgenev

taya_bel's review against another edition

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4.0

Great story and great writing, but fell short at the end. I would have liked a bit more sentences to wrap up the ending perhaps.

This is my third book that I’ve read by a Russian author, and this one was my most enjoyed. Perhaps because it had romance in it. (Notes from the underground and Kreutzer Sonata were the other two that I had read.) I’ve found it difficult to fully enjoy Russian authors so far because they are very existential in their writing of emotions. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! It encapsulated one’s first love as something both lovely yet full of despair.

Note for myself: I read this book without any audiobooks

abnerald's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A coming of age story that captures the melodrama of teenage yearning and desire. There is a twist at the end! 

thamera's review against another edition

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4.0

A love story set in the 1800s of the burden of first love. It was well written with great characters developed well for a short story. I want to re-read this because I think I need to be more focused with this novel but it was really well written.

danyacardamine's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

howlsgrl's review

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4.0

4.5 ⭐️

swunderful's review

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emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

21stcenturyfox's review

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3.0

I haven't got around to review this yesterday so I'll do it now.

First Love is well, exactly what it says on the tin. A young boy of 16 falling in love with a giggly coquettish, and somewhat quaint, young princess who got a taste for playing (both ways) with the bachelors who were as madly in love with her. In todays world they would say that the princess got a herd of simps behind her, despite not being that good of a person and likes to toy around with those men.

The boy spoke of her fervently and poetically, just like a young boy drunken in love would, the writing is beautiful, I wish someone would speak about me like that.

jeanneaurore's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

carrie_avm's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.0

fq3i0's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5