WHY YOU SHOULD READ
First Love by Turgenev
First off, this is a novella, so that means it’s short.
Vladimir Petrovich is in a party and they all talk about their first love. Vladimir says that his is too long, so he writes it down. And then begins the story of his sixteen year old self and Zinaïda, a twenty one year old ‘sort of noble’ but pretty poor broad. And she’s the shiny new toy in town so she has plenty of other suitors, and she has a blast playing with her love-struck crowd. It’s kind of tragic, all throughout the book, if you’re a fan of unrequited love, you’ll be served my dears. Friend zoned? Say no more, just read on. Also, there’s a little kinkiness in it, so you naughty little snoops can enjoy that!
Now, I can’t tell you to expect an happily ever after. This is a Russian writer, not Disney World, so yeah, the worse? Expect that. But it just makes it that much better because you’re at the end and you go “WHAT?” It’s beautiful, I tell you.
So, do read it. Turgenev is one of those writers that you absolutely need to have read.
Quote: “There is a sweetness in being the sole source, the autocratic and irresponsible cause of the greatest joy and profoundest pain to another, and I was like wax in Zinaïda’s hands; though, indeed, I was not the only one in love with her.”
