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A review by thomasgoddard
First Love by Ivan Turgenev
4.0
A tonic this one. A short read but a really strong one.
‘This vivid, sensitive tale of adolescent love follows a 16-year-old boy who falls in love with a beautiful, older woman and experiences a whirlwind of changing emotions, from exaltation and jealousy to despair and devotion.’
This one really spoke to me. You have to love an Estella-esque character. There must have been something in the water because the character of Zinaida in this book is very similar in spirit to Estella in Great Expectations. Maybe women back then were just build different, who can say? If you do know why this is, please enlighten me. Other examples of these kinds of characters in action are welcome too. I love reading them for some reason.
Zinaida is a young woman of formidable control. Both over herself and the environment and people surrounding her. To have poor Petrovich caught in her web. To watch him assess the other men caught and their self-debasement. And to read as he and others still gladly choose their subjugation. A ‘chef kiss’ of a story.
I loved the relationship between Vladimir Petrovich and his father Pyotr Vasilyevich. The man looking back on his childhood and that core relationship.
Spectacular twist, well breadcrumbed too - you get that splendid moment of.... ‘Ohhhh... oh no!’
Perfect. Having a good run of books lately.
‘This vivid, sensitive tale of adolescent love follows a 16-year-old boy who falls in love with a beautiful, older woman and experiences a whirlwind of changing emotions, from exaltation and jealousy to despair and devotion.’
This one really spoke to me. You have to love an Estella-esque character. There must have been something in the water because the character of Zinaida in this book is very similar in spirit to Estella in Great Expectations. Maybe women back then were just build different, who can say? If you do know why this is, please enlighten me. Other examples of these kinds of characters in action are welcome too. I love reading them for some reason.
Zinaida is a young woman of formidable control. Both over herself and the environment and people surrounding her. To have poor Petrovich caught in her web. To watch him assess the other men caught and their self-debasement. And to read as he and others still gladly choose their subjugation. A ‘chef kiss’ of a story.
I loved the relationship between Vladimir Petrovich and his father Pyotr Vasilyevich. The man looking back on his childhood and that core relationship.
Spectacular twist, well breadcrumbed too - you get that splendid moment of.... ‘Ohhhh... oh no!’
Perfect. Having a good run of books lately.