A Hero of Our Time

The first example of the psychological novel in Russia, A Hero of Our Time influenced Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, and other great nineteenth-century masters who followed. Its hero, Pechorin, is Byronic in his wasted gifts, his cynicism, and his desire for any kind of action—good or ill—that will stave off boredom. Outraging many critics when it was first published in 1840, A Hero of Our Time follows Pechorin as he embarks on an exciting adventure involving brigands, smugglers, soldiers, rivals, and lovers.