The Life of Klim Samgin. In 2 volumes. Book 1

«At first, no one will understand this novel, they will criticize it… But in fifty years they will say: “There was a writer Maxim Gorky — he wrote a lot, and it was all bad, and what remains of him... is the novel ‘The Life of Klim Samgin’» M. Gorky The last work of the author, the idea of creating which arose soon after the first Russian revolution. Gorky originally wanted to name it «The Story of an Empty Soul», and conceived it as a «novel of the century». It depicts not only the fate of an individual against the backdrop of historical events in Russia from the 1880s to February 1918, but also the spiritual life of the Russian intelligentsia, as well as the theme of the people capable of changing the course of history. Debates around the novel continue — is it to be considered the author's failure or, on the contrary, one of the main Russian books of the 20th century? Gorky's creation, from which the winged phrase «Was there a boy?» went «to the people», is undoubtedly complex and not yet fully deciphered.