of ideologist preaching "new truth", materialism and atheism. Goncharov admitted later that Volokhov proved to be a challenging character and in the long run, a stumbling block, hindering the whole process. The author himself conceded later that "the Volokhov character came like a piece of two-part cloth, one half belonging to pre-1850s, another coming from the modern times when 'new people' started to emerge." Goncharov considered The Precipice to be his best work, in which he managed to realize his artistic ambition to the full. "Dreams and aspirations of Raisky for me sound like a sonorous chord, praising a Woman, Motherland, God and love," he wrote in a letter to Mikhail Stasyulevich. Synopsis In The Precipice Goncharov combines various genres: novel about the artist, political novel, and romance. This work contrasts the then new ideas of philosophical positivism, utilitarianism and atheism with romantic idealism and traditional values. These various views are examined through the characters of three men laboring to win the love of the heroine, Vera: Boris Raisky, an artist-dilettant; Mark Volokhov, a nihilist in the tradition of Turgenev's Bazarov; and Ivan Tushin, a traditional, yet enlightened landowner. The Precipice is especially notable for its women. The heroine, Vera, is one of Russian literature's most independent and intelligent female characters, and the full-blooded portrait of Raisky's wise and strong grandmother is no less remarkable. (AbeBooks) Reception The novel, upon its release, received mixed response. At the time of the sharp division in the Russian cultural elite, critics came to assume the novel each according to their own current political stand. The Russian Messenger, a conservative magazine, not just praised the way Goncharov allegedly "poeticized the old times" but saw this as the novel's major asset. Critics close to the democratic camp (among them Nikolai Shelgunov and Maria Tsebrikova) published negative reviews. Characteristically, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin in his essay "The Street Philosophy" (Otechestvennye zapiski, 1869, No.6) focused only on chapter 6 of the last part of the novel. Having scrutinized Volokhov's character, he came to the conclusion that this type of person in no way could be seen as a Russian free-thinking man's role model. Vexed by the fact that it was the 'domestic nihilist' type to whom Goncharov had attributed this status of a 'doctrine-holder', the critic saw this as a sign of the novel's tendentiousness and accused its author for "a penchant for abstract humanism." Traditional values of 'goodness'