Oblomov is the best known novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, first published in 1859. Oblomov is also the central character of the novel, often seen as the ultimate incarnation of the superfluous man, a symbolic character in 19th-century Russian literature. Oblomov was compared to Shakespeare's Hamlet as answering 'No!' to the question "To be or not to be?" Oblomov is a young, generous nobleman who seems incapable of making important decisions or undertaking any significant actions. Throughout the novel he rarely leaves his room or bed and famously fails to leave his bed for the first 150 pages of the novel. The book was considered a satire of Russian nobility whose social and economic function was increasingly in question in mid-nineteenth century Russia. Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov (June 18, 1812 - September 27, 1891; June 6, 1812 - September 15, 1891, O.S.) was a Russian novelist best known as the author of Oblomov (1859). He was born in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk); his father was a wealthy grain merchant. After graduating from Moscow University in 1834 Goncharov served for thirty years as a minor government official. In 1847, Goncharov's first novel, Obyknovennaia (usually translated into English as A Common Story), was published; it dealt with the conflicts between the decadent Russian nobility and the newly-profitable commercial class. It was followed by Ivan Savvich Podzhabrin (1848), a naturalist psychological sketch. Between 1852 and 1855 Goncharov voyaged to England, Africa, Japan, and back to Russia via Siberia as the secretary of Admiral Putyatin. His travelogue, a chronicle of the trip, The Frigate Pallada (The Frigate Pallas), was published in 1858 ("Pallada" is the Russian spelling of "Pallas"). His wildly successful novel Oblomov was published the following year and the main character was compared to Shakespeare's Hamlet who answers "No!" to the question "To be or not to be?." Fyodor Dostoyevsky, among others, considered Goncharov as a noteworthy author of high stature. In 1867 Goncharov retired from his post as a government censor and then published his last novel; Obryv (in English The Precipice) (1869) is the story of a romantic rivalry among three men. Goncharov also wrote short stories, critiques, essays and memoirs that were only published posthumously in 1919. He spent the rest of his days travelling in lonely and bitter recriminations because of the negative criticism some of his work received, which was at least partly well deserved. Goncharov never married. He died in St. Petersburg. Source: Wikipedia