About this title: Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is a member of Russia's dying aristocracy a man so lazy that he has given up his job in the Civil Service, neglected his books, insulted his friends and found himself in debt. Too apathetic to do anything about his problems, he lives in a grubby, crumbling apartment, waited on by Zakhar, his equally idle servant. Terrified by the bustle and activity necessary to participate in the real world, Oblomov manages to avoid work, postpone change and finally risks losing the love of his life. Written with sympathetic humour and compassion, Oblomov made Goncharov famous throughout ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: The New American Library
Date Published: 1963
Description: Fair. No Jacket. Light Water Lines On Page Ends, Soil Spot On Outside Page Ends, Spine Creased, Covers Soiled, Sticker Back Cover, Text Is Unmarked, Reading Copy. read more
Edition: Reprint
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin
Date Published: 1954
Description: Good. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. A good paperback copy, older but still usable. The binding is solid, and there are no reading creases in the spine. The cover shows some mild edgewear, has a small abrasion of the back from the removal of a store sticker, and has the general 'old book look. ' The paper is yellowed, as is common in Penguins, but the text is clean and unmarked. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------This 19th century Russian novel would be ... read more
Description: Fair. No Jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. 543 pp. Text in Russian. This is a reading copy only. The cover edges are worn. The pages are tanned at the edges, and are brittle. The first and last leaves in the text block have detached, and are laid in. The hinges are cracked, but holding. The binding is square, and the text is clean. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Like New. 2006-Paperback-May contain minor shelf-wear. Otherwise, volume un-read and in "As-New" condition. -Used-Like New-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: J. M. Dent
Date Published: 1932
Description: Good. No folded pages. Black marker spot on first page & small spot on edge of pages (not visable on page faces). Some cover wear, including rubbing & edgewear, plus corner bumps & spine fading. No dustcover. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. /E. P. Dutton & Co. Inc
Date Published: 1932
Description: Good Used, Good. No DJ. HARDCOVER, Good/No DJ, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. /E. P. Dutton & Co. Inc., 1932, 13.5 oz. This copy shows significant wear, but pages are intact, has no dust jacket, is a former library copy with the usual markings. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Everyman's Library, London
Date Published: 1946
Description: Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. Some tears and small pieces missing from dustjacket.; Translated by Natalie Duddington. #878. read more
"The standard question of 19th century fiction: what to do with that mass of land and leisure (the serfs who worked the land not being literate). The most entertaining part is the beginning, in which Oblomov doesn't have the will to get out of bed. Later, he overcomes that and the novel becomes just another 19th century Russian hero, managing his estate and courthing his wife. The beginning metaphor and the comedy of it is what's worth reading."
"i'm glad many people here liked the book, which is one of my most favorite among Russian literature. I'm even more glad since very few Russian people seem to like it or it's main hero.
I would like to offer you my point of view on Oblomov. To me, it's difficult to talk about his "salvation", for he's nothing to be saved from. Neither he nor the author (who himself bore strong resemblance to his protagonist) believe he needs to be saved. He lives the life of a "poet and philosopher", as we hear in the first chapter from one of his guests.
Those guest who keep coming to him come for a reason - they all want his advice, which means they respect him. Meantime, they all represent the vanity of this world, Stolz (which is Pride in German) being the most powerful of them. Oblomov doesn't want to participate in this swirling of meaningless world around him, living in peace and serenity of his dreamworld - Oblomovka, where he was raised in love, and that's what he represents - the Love itself.
His relationship to Olga may seem romantic, even self-sacrificial on Olga's behalf. Apparently, she's trying to save him - but she never asks him what he really wants in his life, acting as if she's the one who knows better. We can also remember that for her it was "like a game", the whole relationship thing, and that she actually acted as a part of Stoltz's plot to transform his friend to a more sociable being. So, i wouldn't call it love at all, at least, not on the part of Olga.
Finally, I would like to say a few words about what seems to be the "happy end" - Olga and Stolz living together in their house, reading books, discussing them and so on. My own personal impression after i read those pages was that of complete, almost desperate boredom of such living. It's too calm, too placid, too emotionless. I could feel no love it their union - and perhaps that's because none of them was capable of loving.
This tragic book to me is more than just a sigh for old, disappearing Russia, submitting to inevitable progress. It's a statement that nothing will be the same anymore, and that people who preserved the spirit of the nation that was carefully created for thousands of years were becoming extinct and useless. The saddest part, they really are useless in any practical sense, but should we always judge everything depending on how useful it is?"
"This book sounded boring, as it's about a man who doesn't want to do anything, but it was actually really good. Oblomov may be lazy, incapable of taking the initiative about anything and completely dependent on the people around him, but I liked him anyway even though he threw his life away. I also liked Stoltz and Olga, and thought that their marriage sounded like a good way to live. The only person I really felt bad for at the end of the book was Oblomov's poor wife."
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