{"product_id":"a-hero-of-our-time-9780143105633","title":"A Hero of Our Time","description":"\u003cb\u003eA brilliant new translation of a perennial favorite of Russian literature\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The first major Russian novel, \u003ci\u003eA Hero of Our Time\u003c\/i\u003e was both lauded and reviled upon publication. Its dissipated hero, twenty-five-year-old Pechorin, is a beautiful and magnetic but nihilistic young army officer, bored by life and indifferent to his many sexual conquests. Chronicling his unforgettable adventures in the Caucasus involving brigands, smugglers, soldiers, rivals, and lovers, this classic tale of alienation influenced Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Chekhov in Lermontov's own century, and finds its modern-day counterparts in Anthony Burgess's\u003ci\u003e A Clockwork Orange\u003c\/i\u003e, the novels of Chuck Palahniuk, and the films and plays of Neil LaBute.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMikhail Lermontov \u003c\/b\u003e(1814-1841) made several journeys to the Caucasus before entering St, Petersburg Guards' school, where he began writing poetry and autobiographical dramas in prose. Influenced by Byron, he is renowned as Russia's one true Romantic poet. Lermontov greatly influenced Dostoyevsky and Blok; while Tolstoy and Chekhov regarded his prose as a model. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eNatasha Randal\u003c\/b\u003el (translator\/introducer) has published translations of Yevgeny Zamyatin's \u003ci\u003eWe\u003c\/i\u003e (shortlisted for the 2008 Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize) and Osip Mandelstam's poetry as well as the work of contemporary writers Arkady Dragomoshchenko, Alexander Skidan, and Olga Zondberg. A frequent contributor to the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, she lives in London. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eNeil LaBute\u003c\/b\u003e (foreword) is a film director, screenwriter and playwright. He is best known for his play and film \u003ci\u003eIn the Company of Men\u003c\/i\u003e and his films \u003ci\u003ePossession\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Shape of Things\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Wicker Man\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penguin Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50844053078290,"sku":"9780143105633","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0f335991-81df-4033-8b2a-bc315a55619c.jpg?v=1772531593","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-hero-of-our-time-9780143105633","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}