“There isn’t a person in the world over whom the past gains such power as it does over me. Every memory of a past sorrow or joy hits my soul painfully and elicits from it the same sounds it once did … I am a foolish creature: I dont forget anything–ever!”

 A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov

I have always admired Lermontov and this novel is one of my favourite things in Russian classical literature. Mostly because of Pechorin, he is such an interesting figure. What fascinates me the most is the fact that the novel was written so long time ago but it’s still surprisingly plausible