To be completely honest, Fathers and Children by Ivan Turgenev did not appeal to me when I first saw. However, that changed when I began to read it. This book takes place in Russia around the mid 1800's. For a translated work, this novel was quite intriguing. The book not only speaks of the generation gap between parents and children, but also talks about the coming of age. In Fathers and Children, the reader gets the chance to see various characters find their way through love, social revolution, and coming of age. Despite how old this story is, several of the topics [coming of age] that it discusses still applies to teenagers today. This novel surprised me in the way, as the one person who you may expect to be the antagonist of the story, is actually the protagonist...If you are looking for a bit more of a challenging read, this is the book for you.
Reviewer Grade: 11