Smoke

Ivan Turgenev · 1818–1883 · Russia

Originally Dym (Russian)

Why it matters

A Russian idler drifts through the spa town of Baden-Baden, rekindling an old love affair while émigré factions around him argue Russia's future into so much smoke. Turgenev's bitterest social novel, disowned by radicals and reactionaries alike.

At a glance

Interpolated political debates slow an otherwise intimate love-triangle plot.