A review by kpickens512
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

5.0

This book is such a perfect reading to follow up Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis, that the two books should come as a set. The Burgis book explains Rene Girard's theory of mimetic desire, that we all want a role model to mimic. In Fathers and Son, two college graduates return home together to visit their parents. Arkady Kirsnova and Yevgeny Bazarov first visit Arkady's father and his uncle at their country estate, and then spend a few weeks at the home of Madame Anna Odintsov and her sister Katya. The friends then visit Bazarov's parents, who are elated to see their son home. The conflict in the story occurs because both fathers realize that their sons have changed and they are no longer the main role model in the boy's lives. The young men have shifted their focus to each other, and there is conflict between them because Arkady is more open to new emotional experiences and Bazarov is a self proclaimed nihilist who sees emotional attachment as threatening to his beliefs. Arkady gets engaged to the young Katya, and his friendship with Bazarov ends when Arkady plans on becoming a husband while Bazarov doesn't believe in this type of commitment. Arkady changes and grows emotionally throughout the story, and Bazarov declines because he is not able to change. This story is enjoyable because the themes are timeless and the descriptions are still relevant today. Turgenev was an influence on many writers including Thomas Hardy and Ernest Hemingway, and perhaps John Steinbeck in East of Eden. There is a realism to this story that involves characters from all classes and portrays them subjectively with a certain gentility. There is no villian in this story, just internal conflicts caused by emotional growth.