A Hero of Our Time

Presented here is Mikhail Lermontov’s novel "A Hero of Our Time," a classic of Russian literature, performed by Dmitry Bykov.

The audiobook also includes a lecture—a talk by Dmitry Bykov about the author and the read work.

"A Hero of Our Time" is the first social-psychological novel in Russian prose, written by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov in 1838–1840. A classic of Russian literature.

For the first time, the novel was published in St. Petersburg in the printing house of Ilya Glazunov and Co. in 1840 in 2 books. Print run—1,000 copies.

The novel consists of several parts, and the chronological order of events is disrupted. This arrangement serves special artistic purposes: in particular, at first Pechorin is shown through the eyes of Maxim Maksimych, and only then do we see him from the inside, through entries in a diary.

Structure of the novel

• Preface

• PART ONE

o I. "Bela"

o II. "Maxim Maksimych"

• "Pechorin’s Journal"

o Preface

o I. "Taman"

• PART TWO ("The End of Pechorin’s Journal")

o II. "Princess Mary"

o III. "The Fatalist"

Chronological order of chapters

1. "Taman"

2. "Princess Mary"

3. "Bela" (beginning of Maxim Maksimych’s story)

4. "The Fatalist"

5. "Bela" (end of Maxim Maksimych’s story; narrative framing)

6. "Maxim Maksimych"

7. Preface to "Pechorin’s Journal"

Between the events of "Bela" and Pechorin’s meeting with Maxim Maksimych, the five years pass, as seen by the narrator in "Maxim Maksimych."