Fathers And Children

“So … you were convinced of all this and decided not to do anything serious yourselves.” “And decided not to do anything serious,” Bazarov repeated grimly. … “But to confine yourselves to abuse?” “To confine ourselves to abuse.” “And that is called nihilism?” “And that is called nihilism,” Bazarov repeated again, this time with marked insolence.

The book examines the conflict of attitudes in mid-19th-century Russia, as distant pre-echoes of the Revolution continue to rumble through th…