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Oblomov
Translated by Stephen Pearl
ISBN: 9781847493446
540 pages
RRP: Original price was: £9.99.£7.99Current price is: £7.99.
WINNER OF THE AATSEEL PRIZE FOR BEST TRANSLATION FROM SLAVIC LANGUAGE TO ENGLISH
INTRODUCTION BY GALYA DIMENT, PROFESSOR OF SLAVIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
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.
Part of The Ivan Goncharov Collection
REVIEWS
As long as one single Russian remains on Earth, Oblomov will be remembered
Ivan Turgenev
Goncharov is ten heads above me in talent.
Anton Chekhov
Pearl’s approach is more adventurous than that of his predecessors. His text flows naturally, capturing Goncharov’s carefully modulated tone, the gentleness of his humour and the colloquial flavour of his dialogue … Stephen Pearl has indeed caught the very essence of Oblomov.
TLS
Russian is a difficult language. So I feel like awarding the Hart Medal (Oak Leaf and Bar) to Stephen Pearl. Translating Oblomov must have been an arduous task. (Pearl contributes a translator’s note to this edition.)
Roderick Hart
ReinholdsiteI am in rapture over Oblomov and keep rereading it.
Leo Tolstoy
