Set at the beginning of the nineteenth century, before the ideal of
industrious modern man, when idleness was still looked upon by Russia's
serf-owning rural gentry as a plausible and worthy goal, there was
Oblomov. Indolent, inattentive, incurious, given to daydreaming and
procrastination--indeed, given to any excuse to remain
horizontal--Oblomov is hardly the stuff of heroes. Yet, he is impossible
not to admire. He is forgiven for his weakness and beloved for his
shining soul. Ivan Goncharov's masterpiece is not just ingenious social
satire, but also a sharp criticism of nineteenth-century Russian
society.
Translator Marian Schwartz breathes new life into Goncharov's voice in
this first translation from the generally recognized definitive edition
of the Russian original, and the first as well to attempt to replicate
in English Goncharov's wry humor and all-embracing humanity, chosen by
Slate as one of the Best Books of 2008.