I strongly believe that if you want to start reading classical Russian literature, this is the book you should start from!

In my opinion, this book wonderfully portrays the life of Russian people in the nineteenth century; you're gradually introduced to the mentality and traditions of characters in this age.

The central conflict between parents and children is clearly portrayed, and I found it really interesting to see what the adult characters of that era are considered good, beautiful and useful in comparison with the youngsters. Surprisingly for me, I found out that in this opposition I supported the parents, which I think means that the core values of humanity have not changed much over time.

A particularly interesting character in this book for me was Bazarov. I didn't like him from the very beginning because of his nihilism. He appeared to be a character who dismissed any kinds of values which were created and supported before him, and had a really pragmatic point of view on life. But I was deeply touched by the fact that despite of his beliefs he still found the courage to believe in love, so surprisingly for me, at the end I found myself crying over a character who I had at first hated.

I strongly advise everyone to read this book, especially teenagers, in order to understand better the point of view of their parents on life. Because no matter what, in the end many of us will discover that it was our parents who might have been right in the first place!

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