When Arkady Kirsanov brings his friend Bazarov home from university, he unlashes something dangerous on his father's quiet estate. Bazarov is a nihilist: brilliant, abrasive, and utterly unconvinced by anything the older generation holds sacred. He mocks sentiment, rejects tradition, and argues that nothing in Russia need be taken on faith. His very existence forces the Kirsanov family and their circle to confront what they believe and why. Turgenev捕捉了一代人的紧张关系，这种关系至今仍能引起共鸣。老一辈人生活在对旧世界的怀念中，而年轻人则渴望根除过去的一切。巴扎罗夫是一个令人不安的存在, 他是那么的真实、那么的有血有肉，让你不得不质疑自己对传统的依恋是否只是恐惧的伪装。当巴扎罗夫坠入爱河，当致命的疾病逼近时，这部小说变成了一场关于革命、爱情和死亡本身的深刻冥想。巴扎罗夫的死既是个人的悲剧，也是那一代人乌托邦式梦想的象征性终结。这部小说预见了后来将席卷俄国的激进运动，并继续向每一个时代的读者提出同样的问题：我们应该尊重什么，又应该摧毁什么？
