Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I often ask myself why I am so obstinately endeavouring to win the love of a young girl whom I do not wish to deceive, and whom I will never marry.

Hell, Pechorin is a piece of work! A classic example of an emotional vampire who, in his quest for a brief feeling of excitement and fulfillment, completely destroys the lives of those around him.

As the above quote suggests, he pursues and seduces several women, earning their affections without any intention of loving or marrying them, only to discard them once he becomes bored. He is cynical, self-centred and nihilistic, a Byronic hero I guess. His inability to find any true satisfaction in his life is almost worthy of pity, if it didn't result in him trampling others in his reckless pursuit of it.

I liked the framing of the story. So many classics frame narratives inside other narratives - in this case, an unnamed narrator hears part of Pechorin's story from Maxim Maximych, then introduces us to the second part straight from Pechorin's journal - and so few modern books do this. I personally think it works well most of the time.