Cherisa B's Reviews > Oblomov

How we choose to live our lives is a fundamental question for each human being, regardless of the resources at our disposal or the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Will we be a force for good, kind, curious, active? Will we lollygag around, get by doing as little as we can, hide from our responsibilities or obligations? These are the questions Goncharov raises in Oblomov. He gives us two men - Ilya Ilyich Oblomov and Andrei Ivanovich Stoltz - who are good friends but complete opposites in all things except both are deeply good and decent.

The story is primarily about Ilya, the eponymous protagonist, considered the apotheosis of the Russian lit "superfluous man" archetype. This is a young man, usually educated and wealthy, but without aim or purpose, unable to successfully engage in life or with those around him. In this case, our superfluous man is benign - Ilya is trusting and good-natured and loveable, with a "dovelike tenderness" that endears him to those who look for good qualities in the people around them.

Like all good 19th century Russian writers (haha), Goncharov packs in a lot of big ideas, such as class and gender, master and servant, education and culture, us vs. them-ism (e.g. Russian vs European, urban vs rural, etc.), goodness and criminality, into a phenomenal literary work with a deeply moving story. He also creates a portrait of marriage that is one of my favorites in all literature.

A re-read 35 years apart. Well worth a revisit.