Rudin: A Novel

Translated by Constance Garnett

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"Rudin: A Novel by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev" is a novel first published in 1856. It explores the "superfluous man"—a brilliant, eloquent intellectual incapable of translating words into action. When the educated nobleman Rudin arrives at a country estate, his powerful speeches captivate everyone, especially the intelligent seventeen-year-old Natalya. As their relationship deepens, the central question emerges: can this man of magnificent ideas overcome his paralyzing inability to act? Set during Russia's reformist awakening, the novel examines a generation caught between grand ideals and practical impotence.

Summary written by Project Gutenberg, by machine.