I've finished Spring Torrents and am now working on the essay on it. Typically a classic like this has a forward that delves into the story a bit, its relations to others by the author and what it means in the context of the time it was written. This translation, though, has only a note explaining that this essay would be included at the end rather than the beginning to avoid coloring the reader's impressions. At first I was a little annoyed by that. I like the essays because they give me things to look for and help me understand more because they clue me in on the context. Now that I've finished the novella, though, I appreciate it. I think it has to do with how modern this story felt and how much Turgenev I've now read. It worked and the essay is still quite interesting reading. I'm not sure how common a practice this is and have some concerns about it concerning a new to me book but overall it wasn't a game changer. Plus I can always start at the back.
At any rate, I have to say that Spring Torrents was wonderful. It's a semi-autobiographical work that explains some of how he felt living his rather unconventional for the time life. I'm not sure that I place it above the collection of stories known as A Sportsman's Notebook (aka Sketches from a Hunter's Album - among others) but, if not, I place it second to it and a close second at that. Anyhoo, do yourself a favor and read it.