First Love (Gekürzt Fiktion‪)‬

"While known for beautifully observed works of social realism in the decades leading up to the Russian revolution, Ivan Turgenev, in this acclaimed tale, depicts a revolution of another kind: the electrifying transformation of a young man`s first love."


Set against a background of the decaying aristocracy from which Turgenev himself came, with an extraordinarily vivid cast of characters, First Love is one of the most autobiographical of his works, and it throbs with the ache and wonder of that once-in-a-lifetime experience - until the tender evocation is pierced by a devastating revelation that leaves the young hero`s sweet illusions obliterated. What makes the story remarkable is Turgenev's ability to show how the experience can lead to a compassion that is transcendent, as is this remarkable novella.