Asya

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818–1883) is an outstanding Russian writer, playwright, critic, and translator. In his books, the life of a nineteenth-century person is shown in every detail. But the feelings of Turgenev’s heroes, their moral values, their vices and virtues are not alien to our contemporaries—so his works are still in demand today.

A true gem of I. S. Turgenev’s oeuvre is the touching, gentle, exceptionally lyrical story “Asya.” The prototype of the main character is considered to be the writer himself. No wonder Turgenev does not reveal the character’s name, calling him N.N. They have much in common: both have considerable means, both travel a great deal, but neither managed to fulfill their dreams.

Asya, the illegitimate sister of Gagin, is ashamed of her origins and wants to forget them. She reads a lot and wants to be like Pushkin’s Tatiana. The heroine is not afraid to take the first step in relationships—and that frightens the self-doubting hero. She expects from him only one thing—an admission of love, but his understanding of that feeling comes far too late. He may still fix everything, but he postpones his visit to Asya until tomorrow…

Listen to the brilliant dramatization of the story, whose main message is this: life is fleeting, and it is important to recognize the most valuable feeling in it in time—love.