In The District Doctor, a traveller falls ill and is treated by the local physician, who unexpectedly shares a story with the stranger. Once the doctor was asked to make a house call by a woman who believed her daughter might be dying. On his arrival, the physician finds a beautiful 20 year old woman who is feverish and initially unconscious. Although fully aware how ill she is, he nonetheless promises everyone that she will survive. He is immediately infatuated with the woman and spends days and nights at her bed side caring for this single patient. As Alexandra's condition worsens and she becomes convinced her death is imminent, she professes love for the doctor. It's hard to die at twenty without having known love; this was what was torturing her this was why, in despair, she caught at me, asserts the doctor during his confession. Just before her death, the doctor lies about their relationship to Alexandra's mother. Later the doctor marries another woman. Did he marry for love, convenience, or money? In Kassyan Of Fair Springs we get an opportunity to marvel at Turgenev's divine descriptions of nature. They become so beautiful that one can easily fall into a state of deep meditation. We also learn about very strange and mysterious character Kassyan, nicknamed the Flea who seem to be able to speak to birds and astonishes Turgenev with his deeply spiritual views of the world and nature. We learn about Kassyan's deep love for nature and his fascination with Gamayunne, a prophetic bird of Russian folklore, a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. Queer things happen in the world: you may live a long while with some people, and be on friendly terms with them, and never once speak openly with them from your soul; with others you have scarcely time to get acquainted, and all at once you are pouring out to him - or he to you - all your secrets, as though you were at confession.
| ISBN | 1907832084 | | Translator | Constance Garnett | | ISBN13 | 9781907832086
(What's this?) | | Weight (grammes) | 120 | | Publisher | Max Bollinger | | Published in | London | | Imprint | Sovereign | | Height (mm) | 185 | | Format | Audio CD | | Width (mm) | 135 | | Publication date | 16 May 2011 | | Spine width (mm) | 15 | | Playing time (mins) | 70 | | Academic level | General | | Other artists | Max Bollinger | |
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The District Doctor: 01 Confession; 02 Call Of Duty; Kassyan Of Fair Springs: 03 Hot Summer Day; 04 Yudino; 05 The Clearing; 06 Oracle-Bird Gamayune; 07 Girl In A Blue Frock;
A milestone in Russian realism, Turgenev's Hunting Sketches paint an almost mystical portrait of everyday life in Russian country villages. Times are harsh: in the isolated village where the coachman tries to get the carriage axle mended, the water is bad, even for the horses. Nevertheless, in the woods, where all is 'rippling, quivering in fleeting brilliance', old Kassyan chirrups to quails in answer to their calls. Moved by the obvious passion of the Russian narrator, Max Bollinger, the listener is transported to that world. Rachel Redford, The Observer, UK THE DISTRICT DOCTOR, a tightly woven story about a physician who shares a tale of falling in love with a young patient. Somewhat different or at least more dramatic than the other stories contained in Turgenev's short story collection, the characters are so well defined and the situations as the physician describes them are so touching that the story seeps into the mind and remains there. Despite the label as being a 'sketch', this story is a novella by our standards. It is a fine choice to complete this audio book with the other story from THE HUNTING SKETCHES, Kassyan of Fair Springs - a quiet reverie of nature and the impact it has on the writer. The work is more a meditation than a story and Bollinger treats it in a different manner: this story is delivered almost as an otherworldly sigh and conjures images not only from Turgenev's writing but also from Bollinger's reading that make it very lyrical. Grady Harp, USA
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