First published in 1859, Oblomov is an indisputable classic of Russian
literature, comparable in its stature to such masterpieces as Gogol's
Dead Souls, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov.
The book centres on the figure of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, a member of the
dying class of the landed gentry, who spends most of his time lying in
bed gazing at life in an apathetic daze, encouraged by his equally lazy
servant Zakhar and routinely swindled by his acquaintances. But this
torpid existence comes to an end when, spurred on by his crumbling
finances, the love of a woman and the reproaches of his friend, the
hard-working Stoltz, Oblomov finds that he must engage with the real
world and face up to his commitments.
Rich in situational comedy, psychological complexity and social satire,
Oblomov - here presented in Stephen Pearl's award-winning translation,
the first major English-language version of the novel in more than fifty
years - is a timeless novel and a monument to human idleness.