Read this when
A Hero of Our Time
He knew exactly why he pushed everyone away. He wrote it all down. He did it anyway. Pechorin, 1840. 🏔️
Who it's for
Pechorin is an unusually recognizable portrait of a person who analyzes himself brilliantly and still keeps hurting others to break through his boredom and emptiness.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Mikhail Lermontov's novel was published in 1840 and revised in 1841. It is made up of five linked stories set largely in the Caucasus and told out of chronological order. It first shows its protagonist, the young officer Pechorin, through others: the old officer Maksim Maksimych and an unnamed travelling narrator.
Where to find it
Public domain in the US in older translations (e.g., J. H. Wisdom and Marr Murray, 1912; check Project Gutenberg); the Nabokovs' and Randall's translations are in copyright, in print and in libraries.
Before you start
Heads up: A woman's abduction and a fatal duel.
Age: Ages 16+
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets from the Portuguese, Sonnet 43
