Oblomov Ivan Goncharov, Marian Schwartz

Set at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when idleness was still looked upon by Russia's serf-owning rural gentry as a plausible and worthy goal, Ivan Goncharov's "Oblomov" follows the travails of an unlikely hero, a young aristocrat incapable of making a decision. Indolent, inattentive, incurious, given to daydreaming and procrastination, "Oblomov" clearly predates the ideal of the industrious modern man, yet he is impossible not to admire through Goncharov's masterful prose. Translator Marian Schwartz breathes new life into this Russian masterpiece in this, the first translation from the generally recognized definitive edition of the original, as well the first to attempt to replicate in English Goncharov's wry humour and all-embracing humanity. Replete with ingenious social satire and cutting criticism of nineteenth-century Russian society, this edition of "Oblomov" will introduce new readers to the novel that Leo Tolstoy praised as 'a truly great work, the likes of which one has not seen for a long, long time'.

Ivan Goncharov (1812-1891) was born in Simbirsk, Russia, and is the author of three novels. Goncharov's short stories, essays, and memoirs were published posthumously in 1919. Marian Schwartz is a prize-winning translator of Russian fiction, history, biography, criticism, and fine art. She is the principal English translator of the works of Nina Berberova and translated the New York Times bestseller The Last Tsar, by Edvard Radzinsky.

"The combination of Goncharov's edits and Schwartz's translation left me thumbing back to the copyright page to confirm 1862, not 1962, as this translation sparkles with contemporary lyricism and humor."--Karen Vanuska, "Quarterly Conversation"--Quarterly Conversation