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Title: Dead Souls : A Novel by Nikolai Gogol ISBN: 0-679-77644-3 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 25 March, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.73 (37 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Interest commentary on Russian society
Comment: An ambitious man in 19th century rural Russia attempts to increase his wealth and societal rank by purchasing dead peasants who, due to lengthy delays between census-takings, are still on the books. It's a brilliant premise for a Russian novel because it says so much about Russian society, both past and present. In this premise is reflected the endemic corruption of the Russian public sector. It also paints an ugly but not far from accurate picture of moral bankruptcy taken to extremes. And it portrays a prevalent truism that persists in modern-day Russia, namely that the appearance of wealth is just as important as wealth itself.
For the premise alone, this novel deserves to be recognized as an important work in the annals of Russian literature. But the credit for the premise belongs not to Nikolai Gogol, but rather to Alexander Pushkin, Gogol's contemporary and Russia's poet laureate. Pushkin suggested the idea to Gogol, and Gogol enthusiastically developed it into a 400 page novel that could easily have been written in half that length.
Gogol's writing is whimsical and entertaining, but it's also sloppy. Of all the 19th century Russian authors, Gogol is the one who suffered most from not having a word processor. There are structural flaws to this novel that one assumes could have easily been corrected by the author if he only had the ability to cut and paste. There are also numerous passages of the original manuscript that were lost, presumably not by fault of the author, but nonetheless frustrating to the reader. The novel is divided into two volumes, but they are seriously disjointed, and volume two fails to live up to the standard set by the promising beginning.
As a social critique, this is excellent work. So excellent, in fact, that it surprises me that this book made it past the official censors in tsarist Russia. As literature, however, I'd have to give it a less enthusiastic endorsement.
Rating: 5
Summary: sublime, witty and entertaining
Comment: Gogol is the master of imagery; in _Dead Souls_ he also shows his skills at hyperbole and satire, showing the vanity and ridiculousness of the Russian gentry in the middle of the 19th century.
The plot of the story revolves around a newcomer to an unnamed Russian village (immeadiately under susupicion being an "outsider"), who manages to charm his way into the local scene as a "harmless fellow." Yet soon his plans are revealed: he wishes to purchase the "souls" of dead serfs, the better to establish himself as a member of the landed gentry.
Gogol's masterpiece is almost Dickensian in its character development (and in the personalities of some of the characters), but on a deeper level comments on the superfulousness of appearance. It is a wonderful, witty and thoroughly enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
Rating: 5
Summary: funny book
Comment: this is a very funny story of philistinism, of dreadfully banal people trying to pull of a perfectly dreadful crime. gogol rivals dickens for creating hilarious characters. i especially loved nozdryov, the russian 'everyman'. and gogol's portrayal of russian provincial society is delightful. too bad gogol never finished the book.
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Title: The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol by Nikolai Gogol ISBN: 0375706151 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 29 June, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov ISBN: 0679413278 Publisher: Everyman's Library Pub. Date: 30 June, 1992 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov ISBN: 0679760806 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 19 March, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Fathers and Sons by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, Richard Freeborn ISBN: 0192833928 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: June, 1998 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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Title: Anna Karenina by Mona Simpson, Leo Tolstoy ISBN: 067978330X Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 10 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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