Turgenev seems, in this beautiful little novel, inviting us to relearn the fantastic ... "Clara Milich" is the story of a young man, Jacques Aratov, who lives in Moscow with her aunt, abandoning the pleasures and the society of his age to indulge in reading and photography. His only friend, Kupfer, will push him to leave his hermitage time for a party given by a Russian princess. Uncomfortable, Aratov slips away quickly, before being lead again a few days later at a concert organized by the same person. There he noticed a singer and actress, Clara Milich, which appears to show him special attention. But the girl only causes disgust of Aratov, which pushes the awkwardly during a meeting, even before Clara could confide ... A few months later, a terrible new tomb: the girl s 'poisoned on stage, presumably after a disappointment in love. Stunned by what he learns, Aratov, eager to elucidate the role he played in this drama quickly succumbs to the fascination of this woman who had once seemed so repulsive. But what is this passion that grabs him and devours his soul guilt? A post-mortem love? A spell from the dead? A morbid fascination? Hallucinations related to his poor health? Or his own folly? This short novel reflects all the mastery which demonstrated Turgenev in the fantasy genre. We feel Aratov imperceptibly slide ... to what? It is impossible to elucidate the source of his fascination for the missing actress. And we note with pleasure the care the author took to disseminate clues and red herrings from beginning to end of his story: mystical occupations of the father of the unknown secret Aratov Clara, through the character of Kupfer - to what extent is it important in the drama which is tied? The questions keep flooding and enrich the duality between the supernatural and the fantastic sound which bases because if the end seems to be based on the traditional choice, the story leads us to broaden the perspective. The same character Aratov, naïve, and not knowing women, can find justification for its development in the discovery of interest to the fairer sex, he knows only by the stories of Kupfer, portrait his mother, and loving presence of his old aunt. The same for his nightmares, which disclosure is striking (especially one that features the rich owner): how do they fit into the story? Kupfer Why is he away insensibly his friend? And we note how Aratov point seems made for appearances, who is passionate about photography ... In short: Turgenev plays its readership beyond reason, and that is the best. Because "Clara Milich" is intriguing from start to finish. If fall there, we did not see the climax of the novel. It is in the evolution of the character of Aratov if measured and rational and mystical and whimsical, lies the work of the thread. You can see a man who is drowning in illusions and fantasies, the victim of an enchantment, or a man whose guilt has lost reason. But it is impossible to identify when the poor Aratov "rocker". Turgenev did everything for our being unable. Perhaps it is for this reason that the narrator is happy ironic, yet putting trouble in the reader. It will be understood, "Clara Milich" is a short fantasy novel of great interest. I can not explain it is less known that the "Diary of a superfluous man" for example, which belongs to a different category of fiction but which seems to me, in absolute terms, much less successful. At least the style is it admirable in one and the other work: clear and simple without ceasing to be elegant, Turgenev the verb is in the best history and contributes to the unhealthy atmosphere that characterizes "Clara Milich" .
