A Hero of our Time

Beguiling. Starts with some some beautiful descriptive stuff; seems like a standard novel. Folk–like feeling to the story of Bela.

But then it gets even better. There’s a really tricksy narrative structure that reminded me of If on a Winter’s night a Traveller…, as did the cliff top setting of the siren smuggler story. Hero is 130 years older.

Pechorin starts as an (ambiguous) villain. The method of portraying him in different settings and through various people makes him complex. A modern hero.