Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin: Arseniev's Life

*The Life of Arseniev* is a full-length novel by Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin, the first Russian author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Based on the author's autobiographical story, this novel delicately portrays universal themes of life, death, and love. It begins with the protagonist, Arseniev, recalling his earliest memory—the moment of his birth—and calmly recounts his memories up to the age of twenty. Born into a declining provincial aristocratic family in late 19th-century Russia, Arseniev spends his later years in exile in France, reflecting on his childhood in Russia. Through Arseniev's recollections, the author vividly portrays Russia's patriarchal world, its idyllic rural life and customs, and the world of the peasants. The lyrical descriptions of Russia's beautiful nature are particularly noteworthy. Rather than a consistent plot or specific events, this novel is filled with recollections and philosophical elements. It records a diverse array of fragments of memory and consciousness that traverse the past and the present. The author unfolds an indirect confession about his own life and experiences through the personal biography of the narrator, Arseniev. One can feel the poetic sensibility and delicate emotions of the author, known as a "genius of prose." [Hardcover]

Korean title: 아르세니예프의 생애

Korean author: 이반 알렉세예비치 부닌

Korean publisher: 나남

ISBN-13: 9788930083300