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The Nose

by Nikolai Gogol, Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator)

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 3,694 ratings · 104 reviews

"The Nose" is a satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol. Written
between 1835-1836, it tells of a St. Petersburg official whose nose leaves his
face and develops a life of its own.

Dmitri Shostakovich's opera The Nose, first performed in 1930, is
based on this story. A short film based on the story was made by Alexandre
Alexeieff and Claire Parker in 1963 and used pinscreen

...more

Hardcover, 20 pages

Published September 1st 1994 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published 1836)

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Jul 26, 2012 Marts (Thinker) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, 2012-reads

The unusually satirical short story about a Major Kovalyov who wakes one morning to find his nose missing and soon realises that the nose is parading around town living a life of its own...

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 17, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001, short, russian, 19th-century, own-ebook, read-in-2011, humor

Hilarious. Gogol's satire that proves that you (or at least he) really can make a great story out of nothing at all. Where else besides Gogol's world can your nose hop off your face while you're sleeping and spend the next few days parading around in full dress uniform, being welcomed into the homes of your friends and acquaintances? I'm sure 19th century Russian politicians were quite insulted by Gogol's insinuation that they couldn't tell the difference between a "distinguished gentleman" and...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: 3Ms

Shelves: 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, e-books, russian-fiction, short-stories, read-2012

Page 3:
He thrust in, this time, all his fingers, and pulled forth—a nose! His hands dropped to his sides for a moment. Then he rubbed his eyes hard. Then again he probed the thing. A nose! Sheerly a nose! Yes, and one fa- miliar to him, somehow! Oh, horror spread upon his feature! Yet that horror was a trifle compared with his spouse's overmastering wrath.

Page 14:
"I said nose, not Nossov. You are making a mistake. There has disappeared, goodness knows whither, my nose, my own actual nose. Presum...more

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Jun 21, 2010 Monster added it

Shelves: scary-books-for-kids

Ivan Yankelovich is delighted to have a loaf of freshly baked bread for breakfast... until he discovers a nose inside! It's not just any nose, either, it is the nose of one of his customers, a self-important bureaucrat named Kovaliov. Terrified to leave the nose where it can be connected to him, Yankelovich sets off to hide it, but his furtive behavior attracts official attention.
In the meantime, Kovaliov wakes up to discover he has no nose. Covering his face with a handkerchief, he starts do...more Ivan Yankelovich is delighted to have a loaf of freshly baked bread for breakfast... until he discovers a nose inside! It's not just any nose, either, it is the nose of one of his customers, a self-important bureaucrat named Kovaliov. Terrified to leave the nose where it can be connected to him, Yankelovich sets off to hide it, but his furtive behavior attracts official attention.
In the meantime, Kovaliov wakes up to discover he has no nose. Covering his face with a handkerchief, he starts down the street, where he spots his nose, dressed as a fine gentleman and high official. Kovaliov hesitates to approach a social superior, even a former appendage, but he wants his nose back and confronts the nose, who denies any connection with him. Eventually a police officer returns the nose confiscated from Yankelovich, but it won't stick to Kovaliov's face! Kovaliov is unable to show his face in public without ridicule, shutting down his social ambitions, as the nose-posing-as-officer has become a sensation. Then one day Kovaliov wakes up to find the nose back on his face, firmly attached.
Anyone looking for logic or narrative structure in The Nose will be disappointed. The pieces don't fit together neatly... there's more than one beginning, and it doesn't seem like the story really ends. It is nightmarish in some ways- finding a nose in his breakfast must have been pretty stomach-churning for Yankelovich, and when he abruptly disappears from the story the imagination finds ominous ways to fill in the blanks. Gogol is an important figure in Russian literature, with a talent for the surreal who wrote in a different time and a different context, and he wasn't writing for children. The setting, names, and characters may seem alien to many children, the vocabulary is advanced, and the social satire will probably fly over kids' heads. But when it comes down to it, this is one giant, horrifying, absurd joke about a nose, and kids definitely get that. Reading it out loud, it is almost impossible not to at least giggle.
Gennadij Spirin's illustrations will make certain that kids get the joke. Many pages are framed with incredibly detailed drawings of St. Petersburg, Russia, the setting of the story, and observant readers will spot the bizarre giant nose in its plumed hat traveling the streets in its elaborate horse-drawn carriage. Everything in the full page illustrations seems slightly exaggerated, so the most absurd elements aren't jarring, and readers won't even realize how far they are suspending disbelief until they are well into the story. Spirin's representations of the nose are amazing. Some of them seem very cartoony, but in full uniform, the nose does appear to be its own person, so to speak. And, in fact, this book has been used to teach upper elementary students about personification and figurative language.
Although it's a picture book, very young children won't be ready for it, but elementary and middle students may enjoy it, especially with some guidance. It's also a good choice for older students looking for a nonthreatening introduction to Russian literature, and readers of any age who like a touch of the bizarre. Recommended.(less)

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Nov 26, 2012 Safae rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001, english

In my humble opinion, I think this book has more meaning to it than what i first perceived.
(view spoiler)...more

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Jan 12, 2012 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love Gogol: aside from the local color he includes in his works, each character feels so alive it's as if you've known them your entire life. As an example, Kovalyov's idea to contact the police post-nose (as he attempts to restore order and regain control over a life and nose spinning rapidly out of his control) is so human in its earnestness and so comical that you're struck with the profundity and inanity of the human condition, all while suffering and laughing along with him.

A quick note...more

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May 28, 2011 Cindy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, in-translation, own, ebook

Some people take Gogol too seriously. Me? I just apply duct tape to the edges of my nose to make sure it won't get up and walk away. It seems to be a functional, cheap solution. And I can change the color weekly!

From Vaught's Practical Character Reader, p 86.

My nose is somewhere between "Good and Bad" and "Selfish and Hopeful." I'd like to keep it that way, so I don't end up with a replacement nose that is "mental."

(How funny that I encountered "The Nose" and the Practical Character Reader in th...more

6 likes · like · see review

Nov 29, 2012 Klæmint Vágadal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, the-russians

Gregor Samsa vaknaði ein morgun og sá, at hann var umskapaður til eitt skriðkykn. "Major" (hann er ikki rættur majorur) Kovalyov vaknar ein morgun og sær, at nøsin er vekk. Har sum nøsin sat áðrenn, er bert huð, einki arr, einki hol. Bara fløt húð.

Í gjøgnum søguna roynir Kovalyov at finna nøsina aftur, men tá hann so einaferð hittir Nøsina (við stóra N), vil hon ikki kennast við hann. Hon hevur fingið sítt egna lív, hevur latið seg í klæðir og tikið arbeiðið hjá Kovalyov. Nøsin er farin at líkja...more

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May 22, 2012 Sunny in Wonderland rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1305-read

Oh-ho-ho! THE LIST continues to give me great reads! I thought The Diary of a Nobody was funny, but THIS has far exceeded my expectations. I guffawed - yes - out loud did I laugh!

Preposterous! A nose, hopping off someone's face in the middle of the night, and parading around for the next few days in full uniform. I particularly LOVED part II - POV: Major (Collegiate Assessor) Kovalev. He's so arrogant - I can imagine his pompous arrogance turned mortal embarrassment at the predicament of being n...more

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Jan 24, 2010 March rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read it in Bulgarian. I like Russian classics, so this one was no exception. I feel as if all the Russian books/works I've recently read have some kind of surreal feel to them, but this long story/mini novella goes even further down the weird hole :). Funny and original, very well told.
Tried to look around for interpretation of what the story might mean, is there some symbolism going on with the losing of the nose thing. But in the end I decided there's no straightforward answer to "what this s...more

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Apr 09, 2013 ☼~Marian~☼ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: russian, 2013, classics, the-1001-must-reads, ebook, short-stories

It's hilarious. Imagine a nose inside your bread for breakfast. Imagine the newly fried pancake patch on where your nose was. Imagine a nose masquerading like a dignified person. Imagine the horrors of waking up without one.
While I was entertained with its magical realism, I was thinking of castration or impotence. Horrible, right? But really, for men, the nose is like a penis. But of course, imagining it otherwise, is absolutely disgusting and sick. Though, just like Kovalyovs, without it, it...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Haritha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: novellas-short-stories

I've heard so much about the brilliance of Russian authors like Gogol. The Nose is a wonderful showcase of this brilliance. In this satirical and ridiculously implausible story, Gogol tells the story of a pompous Russian petty officer whose nose detaches itself from his face and masquerades around as a Russian officer of its own right. Interpretation of this enigmatic story are many ranging from sexual desires to poking fun at the aristocracy who can't even tell the difference between a nose and...more

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Nov 11, 2011 Bonnie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Bonnie by: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die

Shelves: 1001

Odd. Quite odd, indeed.

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Mar 03, 2013 Геллее Авбакар rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: russian-literature

Disclosure:
First of all I get this copy free of Charge as PDF file in English Language, Actually It was Feedbook who provide me with this book.

My Plot:
In fact it was an amazing initiation from GOGOL to provide the literature fans with such a crazy story. "The Nose" is all about a collegiate assessor called KOVALEV who had lost his nose one morning when he wake up, being without nose is something creepy, especially for the Russian society which cares much on the appearances of its subjects. The C...more Disclosure:
First of all I get this copy free of Charge as PDF file in English Language, Actually It was Feedbook who provide me with this book.

My Plot:
In fact it was an amazing initiation from GOGOL to provide the literature fans with such a crazy story. "The Nose" is all about a collegiate assessor called KOVALEV who had lost his nose one morning when he wake up, being without nose is something creepy, especially for the Russian society which cares much on the appearances of its subjects. The Collegiate Assessor's Nose had been flown from his face and take a good position among the "Elite", it became a man with guards. All the attempts that the collegiate assessor's has made to bring it back failed. Finally the nose gets back to him with the aid of a Police officer who bring it back to him, and our protagonist feels happy with his nose on, as if it's a victory he made in his whole life.

Positive and Negative aspects:
What inspires me the most in this book was the sarcasm that GOGOL had toward his own society, it was all funny especially the events of the Barber and the events of the Newspaper Agent, and what annoys me in this Edition was the the bad form of Translation that the Translator make during the process, in addition to the dead words that you have to look for in dictionary each time you encounter it. Apart from this, the story worth being a treasure for Literature.

My Personal Reaction:
I was dying from laughter by reading this amazing story. It's the first time I read about a Nose getting away from its owner to become a member from the "Russian Elite". Moreover, it was a bad chance for the Barber who was arrested in an attempt to throw the nose from the Bridge. Anyway the story was my access door toward the Literature of Sarcasm and Positive Criticism. Hereby I gave my credit to the writer for being so professional in writing, even if he used to be a pillar for the Russian Literature.

Recommendations:
This book is recommended to all the fans of the Russian Literature during the Tsarists and Feudal Era. In fact it portrays the true picture of how human used to live, that's why I recommend it to all people. Please if want to have this story, just visit Feedbook website. It is free.(less)

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Jun 15, 2010 Bettie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: published-1836, e-book, slavic, shortstory-shortstories-novellas, re-read, summer-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 21, 2012 Maitane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 28, 2009 Wanda rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Wendy

Recommended to Wanda by: Bettie Goodreads Reader

Shelves: 2009, russian-literature, ebooks

I absolutely loved this short story. Downloaded as an ebook, it consisted of only 68 pages. The absurdity of the story and some of the lines contained within had me laughing out loud at times. The manner in which this man is separated from his nose, and the manner in which his denies belonging to the man and then gadding about town is just too funny! If you have an opportunity, please seek this one out and read it - you won't regret it. I, for one, will not be deleting it from my Sony.

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Apr 01, 2013 Ensiform rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: russian, fiction

This unusual story is a great piece of work – absurd, somewhat satirical, rather mocking in tone, but with an affectionate tinge to it. Commentary that I have read suggests that there is no reason to Gogol’s surrealism, but I think it could hardly be possible Freudian symbolism was not in his mind. Kovaloyov’s social “impotence” at his loss and his haughty machismo upon reattachment could hardly signify anything else. A very funny and sharp-witted story.

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Oct 11, 2012 Kristi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001-books, reading-challenge-2012

What is to be made of this strange little story about a man whose nose goes on an adventure without its owner? Is it a social critique? A metaphor for castration? Or just a nonsensical bit of storytelling?

Truth be told, I'm not sure. I read this as part of my 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die challenge. I recommend it to anyone looking for a quick and amusing read. The image of the nose in uniform is definitely one that will stay with me.

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Feb 02, 2013 Cipri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Prea mult fantastic pentru gusturile mele.Oricum unele citate merite amintite:
"De pilda,un domn afirma cu indignare ca nu poate intelege cum este cu putinta ca intr un secol luminat sa se raspandeasca astfel de nascociri absurde si ca se mira cum de guvernul nu se sesizeaza .Probabil ca domnul acesta apartinea acelei categorii de cetateni carora le ar placea ca guvernul sa intervina pana si in certurile zilnice dintre nevasta si barbat."

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Sep 16, 2012 Ken Moten added it

Shelves: russian-stuff, short-story-stuff

I definitely do not know what to make about this one. Maybe it is because my head has been so wrapped up in The Brothers Karamazov and other matters a comedy was not my best bet. The thought of the casualness of everyone towards a wandering nose did not escape me though. This will definitely require a read over at a later date. (For now no rating)

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Mar 15, 2013 Thing Two rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: country-russia, books-you-might-have-missed

Okay, so let's say you woke up one morning and discovered you're nose had up and left. What would you do? For, it's not like you can just walk out in public without your nose, the way you could with say a missing finger, or toe. It really is a conundrum - where it went, why it left, and how to get the darned thing back in place - that Gogal treats with all seriousness, and a bit of hilarity. Quick read, funny as hell!

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Aug 02, 2012 Philip Lane rated it 3 of 5 stars

A bizarre short story about a man who loses his nose. I can only assume it is symbolic and what came to my mind was how easily someone can lose their reputation through idle gossip or malicious rumour mongering. This would particularly apply to politicians and 'celebrities'. Given that it is a nose that goes missing it would be particularly appropriate for the phrasse 'losing face'. Short and sweet.

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Mar 22, 2012 Titty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories

After reading Gogol's "The Overcoat", this story was such a surprise for me.I definitely didn't expect something like that from him.
I don't remember when was the last time that I read such an enjoyable short story."The Nose" is ridiculous, but in a good way.I thought it was written very wittily and I just loved the irony (that Gogol has used extremely well).
I really liked it!

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Sep 07, 2010 Красимир Стоев rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Понеже винаги съм се възхищавал на степента на поучителен абсурдизъм у Гогол, винаги съм го и препоръчвал, а "Нос" е пример за творба, която те кара да се замислиш, едва след като я прочетеш два-три пъти и не вникнеш в иронията.

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Sep 16, 2012 Pippa222 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: russian-literature-and-historry

I read this in 1982 and can only transcribe my notes:

Baffling. (Plot explained). Introduction suggests castration complex. G's fear of sexual relations. It is also meant to be influenced by Tristram Shandy. Russian literature is meant to be full of jokes and sayings all about noses. Satirical tone: all-round piss take?

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Jan 04, 2012 Tansy E rated it 5 of 5 stars

i first read this when i was thirteen. beforehand, i had never contemplated the idea of a nose wandering off. and then i read it, and somehow that was when i decided to go and live in russia. not so much a being-inspired-to-visit, more an it-is-inevitable-that-i-will-end-up-there.

not quite sure why. great story, though.

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Oct 06, 2012 Roxana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Witty and amusing, also skillfully translated to Romanian (as I read a different edition). Also, probably the shortest book on the 1001 BYMRBYD list(s), which is always a big plus. Quite enjoyable and incredibly easy to go through. Both beginning and end were abrupt, and everything about it was unexpected.

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Dec 31, 2010 Adamo Lanna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Un tizio si sveglia senza naso, un tizio si sveglia con un naso in una focaccia.
Simbolismo e allegoria senza fine, per la gioia di tutti i sapientoni. Poi il racconto è finito, sono andato allo specchio a vedere la situazione, il mio naso era là. Già che c'ero mi son tolto un paio di punti neri.

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Dec 24, 2012 Kirsty rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ipad, e-books, short-stories

A Russian man finds a severed nose in a bread roll which his wife gives him for breakfast. Such an odd premise could really spring from the Russian imagination. It was well written, but I found it very strange. Still, I'd like to read some of Gogol's other tales to see how they compare.

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About Nikolai Gogol

Gogol (Николай Николай Гоголь) was born in the Ukrainian Cossack village of Sorochyntsi, in Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire, present-day Ukraine. His mother was a descendant of Polish nobility. His father Vasily Gogol-Yanovsky, a descendant of Ukrainian Cossacks, belonged to the petty gentry, wrote poetry in Russian and Ukrainian, and was an amateur Ukrainian-language playwright who died...more Gogol (Николай Николай Гоголь) was born in the Ukrainian Cossack village of Sorochyntsi, in Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire, present-day Ukraine. His mother was a descendant of Polish nobility. His father Vasily Gogol-Yanovsky, a descendant of Ukrainian Cossacks, belonged to the petty gentry, wrote poetry in Russian and Ukrainian, and was an amateur Ukrainian-language playwright who died when Gogol was 15 years old.

In 1820 Gogol went to a school of higher art in Nizhyn and remained there until 1828. It was there that he began writing. Very early he developed a dark and secretive disposition, marked by a painful self-consciousness and boundless ambition. Equally early he developed an extraordinary talent for mimicry which later on made him a matchless reader of his own works.

In 1828, on leaving school, Gogol came to Petersburg. He had hoped for literary fame and brought with him a Romantic poem of German idyllic life – Ganz Küchelgarten. He had it published, at his own expense, under the name of "V. Alov." The magazines he sent it to almost universally derided it. He bought all the copies and destroyed them, swearing never to write poetry again.

Gogol was one of the first masters of the short story, alongside Alexander Pushkin, Prosper Mérimée, E. T. A. Hoffmann, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. He was in touch with the "literary aristocracy", and was taken up by Vasily Zhukovsky and Pyotr Pletnyov, and (in 1831) was introduced to Pushkin.

In 1831, he brought out the first volume of his Ukrainian stories (Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka), which met with immediate success. He followed it in 1832 with a second volume, and in 1835 by two volumes of stories entitled Mirgorod, as well as by two volumes of miscellaneous prose entitled Arabesques. At this time, Gogol developed a passion for Ukrainian history and tried to obtain an appointment to the history department at Kiev University. His fictional story Taras Bulba, based on the history of Ukrainian cossacks, was the result of this phase in his interests.

Between 1832 and 1836 Gogol worked with great energy, though almost all his work has in one way or another its sources in his four years of contact with Pushkin. Only after the presentation, on 19 April 1836, of his comedy The Government Inspector (Revizor) that he finally came to believe in his literary vocation.

From 1836 to 1848 he lived abroad, travelling throughout Germany and Switzerland, as well as spending the winter of 1836–1837 in Paris.

Pushkin's death produced a strong impression on Gogol. His principal work during years following Pushkin's death was the satirical epic Dead Souls. Concurrently, he worked at other tasks – recast Taras Bulba and The Portrait, completed his second comedy, Marriage (Zhenitba), wrote the fragment Rome and his most famous short story, The Overcoat.

After the triumph of Dead Souls, Gogol came to be regarded as a great satirist who lampooned the unseemly sides of Imperial Russia. However, Dead Souls was but the first part of a counterpart to The Divine Comedy. The first part represented the Inferno; the second part was to depict the gradual purification and transformation of the rogue Chichikov under the influence of virtuous publicans and governors – Purgatory.

His last years were spent in restless movement throughout the country. He intensified his relationship with a church elder, Matvey Konstantinovsky. He seems to have strengthened in Gogol the fear of perdition by insisting on the sinfulness of all his imaginative work. His health was undermined by exaggerated ascetic practices and he fell into a state of deep depression. On the night of 24 February 1852, he burned some of his manuscripts, which contained most of the second part of Dead Souls. He explained this as a mistake, a practical joke played on him by the Devil. Soon thereafter he(less)

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Quotes from The Nose

“Perfect nonsense goes on in the world. Sometimes there is no plausibility at all” — 49 people liked it

“Intr-adevar, peste doua minute, nasul iesi. Era într-o uniforma cusuta în fir de aur, cu guler tare si înalt, cu pantaloni din piele de caprioara si cu sabie la sold. Dupa palaria cu pompon de pene, se putea vedea ca avea gradul de consilier de stat.” — 1 person liked it

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