9th out of 283 books
—
1,046 voters
Dead Souls
Dead Souls is eloquent on some occasions, lyrical on others, and pious and reverent elsewhere. Nicolai Gogol was a master of the spoof. The American students of today are not the only readers who have been confused by him. Russian literary history records more divergent interpretations of Gogol than perhaps of any other classic.
In a new translation of the comic classic of...more
In a new translation of the comic classic of...more
Paperback, 464 pages
Published
December 28th 2004
by Penguin Classics
(first published 1842)
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2.0 stars. As much as I hate to say this about a book that is both a classic of Russian literature and considered one of the best satires ever written, THIS BOOK BORED ME TO DEATH!!! Okay, not quite "coffin ready" dead, but certainly bored to the point of suffering intermittent bouts of narcolepsy. I can certainly say without hyperbole that this is not a book I would recommend as an “enjoyable” experience, no matter how much Vodka you have standing by.
My assessment of the book arises DESPITE the...more
My assessment of the book arises DESPITE the...more
I had long resisted reading this book because Gogol didn't finish it. But Virgil didn't finish the Aeneid, which I think ends perfectly, and Bolano didn't finish 2666, which is plenty complete for me, so I figured I'd give this thing a whirl. Besides, there's a translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky, and their translations are sublime, so it was all the more reason to read it.
My instincts were pretty right. For what is there, it is marvelous, but I sure miss what Gogol didn't have time to get to....more
My instincts were pretty right. For what is there, it is marvelous, but I sure miss what Gogol didn't have time to get to....more
مردگان زرخرید، زبان طنز دارد. گوگول نه فقط طبقه مالکان و یا دستگاه اداری روسیه، بلکه دهاتیها، رعایا، طبقات فرودست، نظامی ها و حتی معماری و شهرسازی روسی را هم از نیش و کنایه های خود بی نصیب نگذاشته است.
گوگول در این کتاب، از طرفی آلمان زدگی و فرانسه زدگی طبقه مالک و اشرافی روسیه عصر خود را هجو می کند (چیزی که بعدها در کتابهای داستایوسکی هم دیده می شود) و از طرف دیگر در چند موضع از کتاب می بینیم که خودش دچار آلمان زدگی و اروپازدگی است و به وضوح از فرهنگ روسی در برابر فرهنگ اروپایی شرمسار است.
نکته ا...more
گوگول در این کتاب، از طرفی آلمان زدگی و فرانسه زدگی طبقه مالک و اشرافی روسیه عصر خود را هجو می کند (چیزی که بعدها در کتابهای داستایوسکی هم دیده می شود) و از طرف دیگر در چند موضع از کتاب می بینیم که خودش دچار آلمان زدگی و اروپازدگی است و به وضوح از فرهنگ روسی در برابر فرهنگ اروپایی شرمسار است.
نکته ا...more
Dec 09, 2012
Erik Graff
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Russian lit fans
Recommended to Erik by:
Ed Erickson
Shelves:
literature
By the last two years of high school many of my friends were older fellows already in college. Most were poorer than the average Maine South student, so their colleges weren't far away. As a consequence, I was afforded opportunites to visit and sometimes stay at Roosevelt University, Loyola University, Kendall College, Oakton Community College, the University of Illinois (Chicago and Champaign), the University of Chicago, Oxford University etc.--a practice continued, reciprocally now, when I mat...more
Feb 27, 2013
Jim Coughenour
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
russianliterature,
darkandfunny
Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky's handsome edition of Gogol's "poem" Dead Souls has been setting on my shelves since it was published in 1996. I've long been a fan of Gogol's crazed stories, but had always assumed that his novel would be a bit boring. Again, I was wrong.
Everyone knows the premise. A seedy character, Chichikov, travels about Russia buying "dead souls" – the titles to serfs who have died. Some dark satire seems intended, but as anyone who's read "The Nose" or "The Overcoat"...more
Everyone knows the premise. A seedy character, Chichikov, travels about Russia buying "dead souls" – the titles to serfs who have died. Some dark satire seems intended, but as anyone who's read "The Nose" or "The Overcoat"...more
Gogol's "Dead Souls" is a true masterpiece. It is the only Russian novel that I have read that brings me as much deep satisfaction as Dostoevsky’s great novels. The novel is satirical, intellectual, political, and also entertaining.
The intriguing plot is sketched as follows:
A somewhat mysterious middle class man, named Chichikov, comes to a town and attempts to build prestige by impressing minor officials of the place. The man spends beyond his means in order to impress, and tries to befriend t...more
The intriguing plot is sketched as follows:
A somewhat mysterious middle class man, named Chichikov, comes to a town and attempts to build prestige by impressing minor officials of the place. The man spends beyond his means in order to impress, and tries to befriend t...more
Oct 16, 2007
Simon A. Smith
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
novels-before-1980
I didn't enjoy this novel nearly as much as I enjoyed Gogol's short stories. A couple of things...
1. Several times throughout, the text breaks off and a line is inserted that reads something like, "and here there are many pages missing..." and then the story picks back up in the middle of nowhere again. I didn't know that going in and it was a little confusing.
2. The first 100 pages are very funny and highly engrossing. Starting on about 150 there begins the most monotonous passages. All the bac...more
1. Several times throughout, the text breaks off and a line is inserted that reads something like, "and here there are many pages missing..." and then the story picks back up in the middle of nowhere again. I didn't know that going in and it was a little confusing.
2. The first 100 pages are very funny and highly engrossing. Starting on about 150 there begins the most monotonous passages. All the bac...more
Не книга, а просто прелесть!
Искусство автора - редчайший шедевр! Прочитав его стало понятно почему Гоголь определил своё произведение не романом, а поэмой.
Сам сюжет настолько интересен и загадочный и забавен, что невозможно не оценить его по достоинству (кстати это благодаря Пушкину, который преподнёс идею данного сюжета Гоголю).
А неповторимое мастерство автора вдохновило этот сюжет жизнью, весельем, яркими эмоциями, задором и целым радом искусных приёмов. Не книга, а упоение. Жаль, что автору н...more
Искусство автора - редчайший шедевр! Прочитав его стало понятно почему Гоголь определил своё произведение не романом, а поэмой.
Сам сюжет настолько интересен и загадочный и забавен, что невозможно не оценить его по достоинству (кстати это благодаря Пушкину, который преподнёс идею данного сюжета Гоголю).
А неповторимое мастерство автора вдохновило этот сюжет жизнью, весельем, яркими эмоциями, задором и целым радом искусных приёмов. Не книга, а упоение. Жаль, что автору н...more
Continua il mio viaggio alla scoperta della letteratura russa, sono arrivata a Gogol’ passando da Dostoevskij, ed è proprio il caso di dire meglio tardi che mai.
“Le Anime Morte” staziona nella mia libreria dal 2006 quando, mi decisi a comprarlo dietro ispirazione di un personaggio televisivo della serie ‘Gilmore Girls’.
Durante la lettura di “Delitto e Castigo” più di una volta si è fatto riferimento a Gogol’, cosi che non ho potuto far altro che pensare fosse un segno, un indizio, per la mia pr...more
“Le Anime Morte” staziona nella mia libreria dal 2006 quando, mi decisi a comprarlo dietro ispirazione di un personaggio televisivo della serie ‘Gilmore Girls’.
Durante la lettura di “Delitto e Castigo” più di una volta si è fatto riferimento a Gogol’, cosi che non ho potuto far altro che pensare fosse un segno, un indizio, per la mia pr...more
Gogol’s masterpiece was never finished. Volume 1 is complete but Volume 2 has missing pages and incomplete sentences and then doesn’t so much finish as just stops. (Gogol announced it as a trilogy, completed the second volume but destroyed the manuscript, and scholars rescued the existing second volume from his papers. Some insist it was never really meant to be more than one volume, though the existence of much of a second volume draft—over 130 printed pages—suggests a rather elaborate red herr...more
'I don't want X, it is worthless to me, but if he wants it, I'll charge him a fortune for it.'
Ebay in a nutshell. And an attitude that also sums up my favourite passage from Gogol's satirical masterpiece.
Conman Chichikov attempts to purchase dead serfs from some local landowners, although not being of the Jeffrey Dahmer persuasion he doesn't want to possess them bodily, of course. No, his devilishly cunning and cynical plan is inspired by his understanding that landowners have to pay tax on the...more
Ebay in a nutshell. And an attitude that also sums up my favourite passage from Gogol's satirical masterpiece.
Conman Chichikov attempts to purchase dead serfs from some local landowners, although not being of the Jeffrey Dahmer persuasion he doesn't want to possess them bodily, of course. No, his devilishly cunning and cynical plan is inspired by his understanding that landowners have to pay tax on the...more
Jul 07, 2012
Moira Russell
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nyrb-book-club,
2012-50-new-books-challenge
Was just as hilarious as I remembered, which is really saying something, since I last read Part I about twenty years ago maybe. I don't think I read Part II then; it's so sad, such a skeleton. "At once a wild phantasmagoria and a work of exacting realism" - well, I don't know how phantasmagoric it actually is, but that's about right. I do think Rayfield's translation is v questionable ("A pleasant feeling of calm invaded one's soul").
(Chichikov admiring himself in his "Navarino smoke-and-flame f...more
(Chichikov admiring himself in his "Navarino smoke-and-flame f...more
Some have compared this book to the Divine Comedy. The main characters journey through early 19th century Russia. Dead Souls refers to serfs (slaves) that have died. In Russia, landowners had slaves that were counted decennial for the cenus. The landowners were taxed for these slaves, also referred to as souls, every year, even if they were dead. Chichikov, our "hero", develops a scheme to purchase these dead souls as if they were living. Therefore, relieving the burden from the landowners who c...more
Almost a decade has passed since I read Dead Souls and I still find occasion to tell the story and recommend the author. The hero of the story, Chichikov, is a poor man living in Empirial Russia. During the historical period in which the story occurs, wealth is measured in terms of a man's property, including the number of souls (or serfs) he owns. Our cunning hero travels the country relieving this landed gentry of the paperwork for their deceased and growing a notorious unreal- estate of his o...more
May 26, 2013
Tam
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Tam by:
Trang Le
Shelves:
old
Khi đọc xong phần 1 của cuốn sách, tôi cứ chắc mẩm quả này lại kiếm được sách 5 sao rồi. Thế nhưng khi đọc tới phần 2, dù có châm trước rằng đây chỉ là bản thảo, chắp vá, còn lại của Gogol, tôi cũng đành tặc lưỡi tiếc vì sự yêu thích đã giảm đi ít nhiều.
Văn phong của Gogol rất lôi cuốn. Thú thật là tôi không nghĩ rằng mình lại say mê đọc được một cuốn sách được xếp vào dạng "kinh điển" như thế khi đang chán nản ngồi một mình trên những chuyến tàu. Nhưng thú vị thay, những chuyến tàu thi thoảng c...more
Văn phong của Gogol rất lôi cuốn. Thú thật là tôi không nghĩ rằng mình lại say mê đọc được một cuốn sách được xếp vào dạng "kinh điển" như thế khi đang chán nản ngồi một mình trên những chuyến tàu. Nhưng thú vị thay, những chuyến tàu thi thoảng c...more
I so wanted to give this a five star rating. But I also wanted to drop in a three star. The actual writing itself is great. The caricatures of the Russian landowners are fantastic and humorous. The antics of the hero and his servants are entertaining and enjoyable. The detail, the description of Russian life, the preposterous scheme, the corruption, the rumor mill, all done well and very entertaining. That’s the plus…that’s the five star quality of the book. The three star is the concept of a bo...more
Niet echt mijn smaak, dit boek en al helemaal niet mijn tijd. Wat ben ik blij dat ik geen vroeg-negentiende eeuwse Russische vrouw op het platteland ben. Stomvervelend lijkt me dat.
Ik kan het niet eens zijn met de omschrijving op de cover: een absoluut hoogtepunt uit de Russische literatuur. Er wordt enorm uitgeweid over eten, drinkgelagen, vriendjespolitiek, geredetwist en gehandeld wat het nogal langdradig maakt. Gelukkig zit er af en toe wel humor in, het leukst vond ik het wanneer Gogol het...more
Ik kan het niet eens zijn met de omschrijving op de cover: een absoluut hoogtepunt uit de Russische literatuur. Er wordt enorm uitgeweid over eten, drinkgelagen, vriendjespolitiek, geredetwist en gehandeld wat het nogal langdradig maakt. Gelukkig zit er af en toe wel humor in, het leukst vond ik het wanneer Gogol het...more
I didn't get this book at all. I have seen a lot of smart-looking people carrying the Penguin classic around, so I wanted to see what it was about. I think maybe it helps to be Russian to understand it.
Can anyone explain what the dead sould were for? I kept waiting for it to be explained why he wanted all these dead peasants. An introduction to my edition of the book says he planned to use them as collateral to take out a bank loan to buy property. But if that's the case, it's never mentioned. I...more
An intriguing, unfinished book (there are two volumes, with the second unfinished, and unreleasedin Gogol's lifetime). A satirical novel which explores Russian society, and particularly the ruling and landownding classes, in the early 19th century. In general, they are depicted as being some combination of weak, venal, idiotic, criminal, mean, gluttonous, etc., etc. It's pretty scathing, but in an cheery, good-natured way.
The main character, Chichikov, has a huge amount of energy and ambition f...more
The main character, Chichikov, has a huge amount of energy and ambition f...more
A classic of Russian literature - Gogol's Dead Souls isn't the most exciting read ever - but it is very engaging, well written and rewarding. Gogol's social intelligence and skills in building richly developed characters should engage any attentive reader. There are a few obvious flaws that may repel some readers. This is an unfinished and incomplete work and while that didn't stop me from appreciating what is being offered here - I can understand why some might find that frustrating. Also - Gog...more
I finished this book today, Christmas Eve. It's been something of a slog, but not a boring one, which is somewhat paradoxical. It's one of those unfinished works that doesn't provide any real resolution in the end, but I don't really mind that. It's not really the kind of tale where you are constantly wondering what will happen. Instead, you are early on exposed to Chichikov's techniques and methods, and you see how they play out in the homes of various landowners, all highly individual, at a ce...more
"Poema," Gogol named this book in the title page he created, maintaining that this journey through provincial Russia was not a novel, or was a hybrid of novel and epic that he called "minor epic." The loose spine of the narrative follows Gogol's anti-hero main character, Chichikov, in his get-rich-quick scheme to buy the souls of dead peasants from landowners eager to avoid paying the soul tax at the next census, "relocate" the peasants to a distant province, and sell the whole package to a gull...more
Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volohonsky. A likeable middle aged petty official, Chichikov, comes to the village of N. and starts buying up dead muzhiks from various landowners. The idea is to transfer ownership of the titular dead souls (in the sense of persons, not actual souls) to Chichikov while they’re still listed as living for tax purposes, until the end of the year. Then Chichikov will own these serfs, on paper, and presumably be able to use them as property to stake out a loa...more
My last experience with Gogol was a dance/drama production of his “The Overcoat” presented at the American Conservatory Theater. Delicious and unforgettable. A relative talked to me about Dead
Souls, and I realized it was one of those classics I’d known about forever but had never actually read. There are a lot of those around, I fear. Nevertheless, I’m glad and proud to have finally gotten to it.
It was my son-in-law who steered me here. I was telling him about Catherine the Great, and he told...more
Souls, and I realized it was one of those classics I’d known about forever but had never actually read. There are a lot of those around, I fear. Nevertheless, I’m glad and proud to have finally gotten to it.
It was my son-in-law who steered me here. I was telling him about Catherine the Great, and he told...more
I was a bit surprised by this. Old Russian novels usually are like long, black trains loaded with ponderous themes travelling the entire length and breadth of Russia and ending up in Siberia with all its passengers dead or dying. The title of this book itself, "Dead Souls," suggests a good halloween read. I made a grave mistake.
This is more like Huckleberry Finn, except that its principal protagonist (or "hero," as Nikolai Gogol calls him), named Chichikov, is not a young clever boy but a wily,...more
This is more like Huckleberry Finn, except that its principal protagonist (or "hero," as Nikolai Gogol calls him), named Chichikov, is not a young clever boy but a wily,...more
When thinking of Russian literature, Dostoyevsky (Crime and Punishment) and Tolstoy (War and Peace) are usually the first, and often only, authors to come to mind. That was how it was for me anyway, before I discovered Nikolai Gogol over Summer break.
Gogol’s Dead Souls is as bizarre as it is vividly descriptive and downright hilarious. This novel’s hero (as Gogol affectionately refers to his character) is a man by the name of Chichikov, a visitor to a small town where the new and out of place...more
Gogol’s Dead Souls is as bizarre as it is vividly descriptive and downright hilarious. This novel’s hero (as Gogol affectionately refers to his character) is a man by the name of Chichikov, a visitor to a small town where the new and out of place...more
What is this book?
I can't remember any more if Gogol described it as a Poem or an Epic, maybe it doesn't matter what he called it since he had great chunks of the manuscript fed into the fire on the advice of his religious advisor.
So we are left with part one, some bits of part two and an outline of the three part whole of the work, the rest having gone up in smoke.
What there is of the first part is generally read as a comedy. It is funny, but bear in mind that the first part is about a young ma...more
I can't remember any more if Gogol described it as a Poem or an Epic, maybe it doesn't matter what he called it since he had great chunks of the manuscript fed into the fire on the advice of his religious advisor.
So we are left with part one, some bits of part two and an outline of the three part whole of the work, the rest having gone up in smoke.
What there is of the first part is generally read as a comedy. It is funny, but bear in mind that the first part is about a young ma...more
KUOLLEET SIELUT
Mielenkiintoinen idea, jonka merkitys paljastetaan lukijalle vasta aivan viime sivuilla. Kirjan kerrontatapa on miltei häiritsevä – tyyli, jossa tekijäksi kolmannessa persoonassa itseään kutsuva kirjailija puhuttelee lukijaa suoraan (kutsuen tätä lukijaksi) ja punnitsee kirjoittamisensa ratkaisuja. Tämä metateksti välillä vieraannuttaa tarinasta ja muistuttaa että se on nimenomaan tarinaa, juuri kun siihen alkoi eläytyä.
Omituinen ratkaisu oli myöskin täysin takavasemmalta tullut t...more
Mielenkiintoinen idea, jonka merkitys paljastetaan lukijalle vasta aivan viime sivuilla. Kirjan kerrontatapa on miltei häiritsevä – tyyli, jossa tekijäksi kolmannessa persoonassa itseään kutsuva kirjailija puhuttelee lukijaa suoraan (kutsuen tätä lukijaksi) ja punnitsee kirjoittamisensa ratkaisuja. Tämä metateksti välillä vieraannuttaa tarinasta ja muistuttaa että se on nimenomaan tarinaa, juuri kun siihen alkoi eläytyä.
Omituinen ratkaisu oli myöskin täysin takavasemmalta tullut t...more
I have to give the whole thing five stars just for chapter's 9 and 10 of the first part where the town becomes suspicious of Chichikov and institutes an inquiry. There, the narrative takes on the very funny and intense absurdism that you find in "The Cloak" or "Diary of Madman" or "The Nose." The whole Captain Kopeiken digression is fantastic as is the testimony of Nozdrev--the pathological liar. Both passages work a bit like Monty Python's Dead Parrot Sketch. The Postmaster suggests that Chichi...more
I'm not sure how much I have to add to a discussion of this book. It's awesome, especially in the first half, where Chichikov is still working out his rather obscure program, and along the way is encountering all sorts of weird and wonderfully funny folks. The writing is great, lots of really amazing similes like people always talk about, but just generally, an incredible level of energy in the writing-- it's the kind of thing that could wear you out if it wasn't so generous. I'm not certain wha...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dead Souls | 7 | 119 | May 23, 2013 12:02pm | |
| NYRB Classics: October's discussion of Dead Souls | 32 | 57 | Jan 18, 2013 10:50am | |
| Best translation? | 3 | 91 | Aug 15, 2011 07:44am |
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
More about Nikolai Gogol...
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“However stupid a fools words may be, they are sometimes enough to confound an intelligent man.”
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