"A hero of our time" is Russian classics, written by Mikhail Lermontov. He was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter. His prose founded the tradition of the Russian psychological novel. 
 The reason I chose this book is that the main character has a lot of similarities with the author. They both were talented, noble, served in military, had sharp wit, enjoyed harsh humor, the story in the book has some similarities to the life of the author. It's a strange type of diary. Nature, customs, people of different nationalities and the adventures of the main character are written in a quite interesting way. This book offers a view to the main character through the people who knew him and through his diaries. 
 Now the ugly part. 
 Can there be a more unhappy person, than the main character, Pechorin, in this book? I doubt that. He is disappointed with his life, people and reality. Though he is rich and highborn, it seems that his only purpose is to end his pointless life. He is looking for the aim which he can't find. So the title shows only sarcasm. Pechorin is not a hero. In some way he looks like a monster, though talented and noble. He has everything he needs and that is why his life is pointless. That is a problem to people who have everything, because they are fed up with life. The only things that distract Pechorin for some time are love and passion for women who at first are inapproachable, but after some time they become just dependable on him that their only purpose is to be near him. And then he just acts like a real ass with them. 
 He uses people. He is despicable. 
 Pechorin led me through his disillusions to the point where insanity, wisdom, honor, baseness, loyalty, betrayal, joy and despair interlace to make a sad but quite unique book. It's just classics. There are several stage adaptations and even a ballet adapted from this book.