Works of Ivan Turgenev, famous Russian author of the 19th century, are permeated by the romantic view of the world and people. Though not always strong in their acts and deeds, the heroes of his stories strike the reader by their thoughts and feelings, make us emphasize or compassionate. The author tells of love, as of the most beautiful, high feeling, eternal human value; of serfdom, depicting life of a peasant, often a man of high moral ideals. Some of Turgenev works are devoted to the phenomenon of a superfluous man, a character, doomed to a failure in attempts to be useful for native land, but whose rich inner world triumphs over superficial gloss of high life.
This collection of stories includes "First Love," "Asya," "Mumu," "The Diary of a Superfluous Man," "Song of Triumphant Love," and "King Lear of the Steppes."