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Rating: 
Summary: A Funny Play!!
Review: I performed this play and i must say that it is wonderful!
Rating: 
Summary: A clever little parody
Review: The contemporary American reader can almost visualize this one as a Jim Carrey movie: a case of mistaken identity causes red carpets to be rolled out for a character whom the narrator calls a "flunkie." The expected hilarity of course ensues, with every petty government official seeking to impress the person they think is the Inspector General. Yes, we have seen this plot many times before, even before Gogol's time, but Gogol does it especially well. Perhaps this is sociopolitical satire, perhaps it's just humor, and perhaps it's a little of both. In any case, you don't have to be interested in Russian literature nor in politics to find this short piece hilarious.
Rating:
Summary: A clever little parody
Review: The contemporary American reader can almost visualize this one as a Jim Carrey movie: a case of mistaken identity causes red carpets to be rolled out for a character whom the narrator calls a "flunkie." The expected hilarity of course ensues, with every petty government official seeking to impress the person they think is the Inspector General. Yes, we have seen this plot many times before, even before Gogol's time, but Gogol does it especially well. Perhaps this is sociopolitical satire, perhaps it's just humor, and perhaps it's a little of both. In any case, you don't have to be interested in Russian literature nor in politics to find this short piece hilarious.
Rating:
Summary: Good quick silly fun
Review: The Inspector General is a short comedy parodying the rampant low-level corruption in Russian towns at the time the play was written (1836). The officials of a small town, led by Chief of Police Anton Antonovich, are petrified when they learn that a government inspector is being sent to visit undercover to make sure everything is running as it should. Due to their fear, they quickly conclude that Hlestakov, a badly-in-debt guest at a local inn who is in reality just a 14th-rank clerk en route to his father's house, is in fact that inspector. Hilarity ensues, as the officials fall all over themselves to show Hlestakov the town and convince him that they are doing their jobs in a most upstanding manner, while Hlestakov, though no genius, is wise enough to exploit the situation, convincing the townfolk that he is an extremely important personage, securing over a thousand roubles in "loans," and becoming engaged to Anton Antonovich's daughter and nearly seducing his wife. After Hlestakov leaves, a letter arrives to the effect that he wasn't really the inspector, causing everyone in town to feel very silly, and the play ends. Though both today and at the time he was alive some people have insisted on setting Gogol up as a biting social critic, at least to me it seems that in reality he was nothing more than a very funny author. The characters in The Inspector General (much like those in his novel Dead Souls) are generally not much more than comic caricatures, so if you're hoping for a lot of depth in that area you might wish to look elsewhere. But there are a number of very funny moments in the play, and it's quite an enjoyable story which had a good deal of influence on later writers. At just 72 pages, it's a quick read, so I would recommend it heartily.
Rating:
Summary: Good quick silly fun
Review: The Inspector General is a short comedy parodying the rampant low-level corruption in Russian towns at the time the play was written (1836). The officials of a small town, led by Chief of Police Anton Antonovich, are petrified when they learn that a government inspector is being sent to visit undercover to make sure everything is running as it should. Due to their fear, they quickly conclude that Hlestakov, a badly-in-debt guest at a local inn who is in reality just a 14th-rank clerk en route to his father's house, is in fact that inspector. Hilarity ensues, as the officials fall all over themselves to show Hlestakov the town and convince him that they are doing their jobs in a most upstanding manner, while Hlestakov, though no genius, is wise enough to exploit the situation, convincing the townfolk that he is an extremely important personage, securing over a thousand roubles in "loans," and becoming engaged to Anton Antonovich's daughter and nearly seducing his wife. After Hlestakov leaves, a letter arrives to the effect that he wasn't really the inspector, causing everyone in town to feel very silly, and the play ends. Though both today and at the time he was alive some people have insisted on setting Gogol up as a biting social critic, at least to me it seems that in reality he was nothing more than a very funny author. The characters in The Inspector General (much like those in his novel Dead Souls) are generally not much more than comic caricatures, so if you're hoping for a lot of depth in that area you might wish to look elsewhere. But there are a number of very funny moments in the play, and it's quite an enjoyable story which had a good deal of influence on later writers. At just 72 pages, it's a quick read, so I would recommend it heartily.
Rating:
Summary: Grade-A Gogol
Review: This play is Gogol's most famous, and deservedly so. G portrays a small town's corruption and downfall very amusingly; the story is less memorable than Gogol's manner of telling it and his detached observations of his grotesque creations. The story is a farce, with miniature farces set within it. Anyone who reads it expecting something ponderous with be disappointed; anyone who is simply interested in a fun read need look no further.
Rating:
Summary: Great play, lots of fun.
Review: This was a fun play to read. I highly recommend it to anyone, especially if you're into Russian literature. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Great play, lots of fun.
Review: This was a fun play to read. I highly recommend it to anyone, especially if you're into Russian literature. Enjoy!
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