Review: A Hero Of Our Time

A Hero Of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had always thought that my first russian read would be something by Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, or Chekhov, but as things are ought to do I instead got to read this book which was written in 1840 and is supposed to be the first major Russian novel which actually influenced Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, or Chekhov, so all's fine, Thanks @Vishnu bro for providing me a Gutenberg ebook for this book.

Coming to the book it's not a single story but 5 short stories on a single individual twenty-five-year-old Pechorin. Two are narrated and others are in his own voice. The stories are written as if they are diary entries and reading this just after Wuthering Heights it might have been Heathcliff as well if only he was as handsome as our hero. Who wants nothing from the world and the World keeps throwing itself on his feet.

The story is based in the mountains of Caucasus and there is detailed description of geography and the this was very interesting to know about the history limited as it might be. This again seems to be an innovative work which talked about an anti-hero at the time when the societal norms would have been way different. I liked it and happy that I got to read this one through my run of Classic reads which I find myself on.

Yes, do read it, it's a short read and hopefully you would like it too, till then just Keep on Reading.

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