A Masterpiece of Russian Prose, Lermontov's Only Novel Was Influential for Many Later Nineteenth-Century Authors, Including Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and Chekhov. Lermontov's Hero, Pechorin, is a Dangerous Man, Byronic in His Wasted Gifts and His Cynicism, and Desperate for Any Kind of Action That Will Stave Off Boredom. in Five Linked Episodes, Lermontov Builds Up a Portrait of a Man Caught in and Expressing the Sickness of His Times.