Welcome to Litsy!

My obsession with old books continues.

Mason's pick for the year. I didn't love any of the characters, but it was fun to read as a political satire. I'd definitely recommend the NYRB version with the introduction. If you're like me and don't remember what was going on in Russia at the time from high school world history, the intro does a fantastic job of putting it in context and explaining how prescient Turgenev was in writing this. #litsyatoz #catsoflitsy

Not at all what I was expecting! This is half a satire of the upper class revolutionaries of mid-late 19th century Russia (I liked this part) and half romance (not so much this part). Interesting, frustrating, and depressing. #1001books

My next #1001books read. My first Turgenev, and it sounds really good. Fingers crossed!

He is a very readable Russian, this Turgenev! In this book he writes an interesting story about Russia before the revolution. Ruled by czars and aristocrats, the country looks just like other European countries, in with the rich live their lives in a similar way as when I read a 19th century English novel. People speaking French, dining out, travelling in carriages in beautiful dresses, etc. #1001books Picture: Markthallen, Rotterdam