Oblomov

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oblomov
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Oblomov

Post by oblomov »

Has anyone read the Russian novel Oblomov. I am currently about 300 pages in. What are your thoughts about it?
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Duosetoyevsky
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Post by Duosetoyevsky »

It is a strange book, almost showing the beauty of the procrastinator, reminds me of Hamlet but I prefer Oblomov. The dream sequence showing Oblomovs childhood is when you start to almost appreciate his stagnancy/laziness, and see that the simple peace of relaxation is more beautiful than the chaos of heartache, action, and fluctuation.....at the same time he is strangely repulsive, I guess because humans typically value progress and the process of making mistakes and rectifying them. Oblomov is the kind of guy you love reading about but would never befriend in real life, because he is never willing to risk change. Since I have a bit of a savior complex like Olga, the book taught me that some humans you should leave to their own nature, some people are almost destined to laziness, in not doing anything, or even in being evil, and really you should just let them exist and love them peacefully rather than falling into a devotional love that compels you to dedicate your time to 'improving' them to their peak form......like a lot of Russian literature it is beautifully psychologically complex, with delicious paragraphs dedicated to just describing characters
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Bigwig1973
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Post by Bigwig1973 »

I kind of felt sorry for the guy. He is trying to fit into the acceptable social norms made up by whomever and, it almost seems that he can't quite get it right, for some reason. Plus, I felt as if he was smart enough to know better, but that this is just how one should behave, one should have a carriage with horse when one has a good job with somewhat of a "government" connection. I met a guy in about 2014 who actually reminds me of this character - sometimes. He is actually part Russian-American and when he dresses "nicely" - black wool peacoat, shapka hat, nice dress shoes, black leather gloves, he looks a little like what this character must have looked like, only a bit more up-to-date. I don't want to tell him because, in reality, he is not actually that much like the character, he only appears that way when he is chubby and nicely dressed. He has an appreciation for "fine" things, but I don't think it is because he is shallow, it is because these things are well-made or because they have sentimental value. Like Ferrari's and Faberge items and good cigars and good scotch and accordion players who play old Russian and German folk songs. We were watching the movie Mobius which is partly set in Russia and he mentioned that the poor main character's name means "love" or something similar to that in Russian. The word Oblomov contains the word "..lo..v" and I just thought "No way!". My own little dream world. When I read the novel years ago, I remember that it was similar to Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in that it was set in Russia, but it seemed more story-like than most of their works, which seem almost more realistic or factual. I've never read anything else by the author. Makes me thinks of the Beatles song, Ob-li-de Ob-la-da...creating a fake identity for someone in a book is a great way to either protect or slander someone, depending on how one looks at it.
"...I'd discuss the holy books with the learned man...and that would be the sweetest thing of all...would it foil some vast, eternal plan..." Hamick Fiddler on the Roof

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Post by Onyinyechi Obi »

I’m yet to read this book. I will love to see the replies and check if it is something I will love to read in the future.
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