The Case of the Artemonovs

A dramatic novel by Gorky, written in exile and first published in 1926, is dedicated to the tragedy of those whom the writer called iron men — merchants and industrialists who forged their way from the bottom, provided their children with a great education — and found themselves unable to understand their interests, ideals, and aspirations. The lives of three generations of the Artemonov family unfold before the reader — the unstoppable Ilya Vasilyevich, a man with a wolf's grip and wolf's jaws, his sons — the stern workaholic Peter and the religious righteous Nikita — and the grandsons, who belong to an entirely different generation — the classic representative of the Russian intelligentsia Ilya and the light-hearted bon vivant and hedonist Yakov. Family ties are breaking down — and the collapse threatens the cause for which so much effort was expended.