Rating: 
Summary: If you shine my nose, then I will eat your nose..
Review: Gogol is out of this world.. Every story in this collection defies description. The phrase 'couldn't put it down' gets thrown around alot, but my reading of this honestly interrupted a major school project that i put off for a while. The Overcoat is my one of my favorite stories ever, and everything else was first rate. If you have a half an hour to kill, pick up this book, please.
Rating: 
Summary: Oddity of the Crazed
Review: A strange story of a mans internal dialogue and his day job, with the infatuation of a lovely women and talking dogs. This book translated by MacAndrew includes other stories beyond 'Diary of a Madman.' I confess here I only bought the book for this story and that is all I read, based on Nabakov's reference. The writing by Golgol interesting, yet confusing at times and most certainly; odd, as the story is. Quite mundane in the beginning, while the finale is quite a shocker. A worthwhile read, but nothing to hop off your seat over.
Rating:
Summary: Gogol classic
Review: Gogol has the uncanny ability to write deep, beautiful and simultaneously hilarious stories. "Diary of a Madman and Other Stories" is a great example of Gogol's style of writing to anyone interested in a premier in Gogol's literary style. Caution: if you read this book at night when everyone else is asleep, you may wake everyone up as you'll find yourself laughing out loud.
Rating:
Summary: Gut-bustin', heart-wrenchin' slavic thrilla
Review: Gogol's stories are a delight. I read this book on the train on the way to and from work, and I often laughed out loud, much to the chagrin of my fellow passengers, who must have thought I was crazy. No one laughs on the train. "The Nose" is my favorite story in the collection. It's absurd and silly. Especially when the nose masquerades as a prominent government official, riding about town in a carriage and dressed in a cape. Incidentally, the nose has very good manners. My copy of this book also contained the story "Taras Bulbas," which isn't funny at all, but rather a romantic epic of Cossacks in the 14th century somewhat similar to Tolstoy's Cossack stories. Gogol's description of the time and place is fantastic awash in detail as it is. Description of battle is hair-raising and exciting. But Gogol romanticizes freely, and wants us to believe that these brutal, violent men embody the Russian Soul. (Note the capitalization.) Whatever. That, combined with a liberal dash of anti-Semitism, laces the work with enough flaw to consider this a 2nd-rate Gogol story. It's a great book and a quick read. One of the better books I have read lately.
Rating:
Summary: Gut-bustin', heart-wrenchin' slavic thrilla
Review: Gogol's stories are a delight. I read this book on the train on the way to and from work, and I often laughed out loud, much to the chagrin of my fellow passengers, who must have thought I was crazy. No one laughs on the train. "The Nose" is my favorite story in the collection. It's absurd and silly. Especially when the nose masquerades as a prominent government official, riding about town in a carriage and dressed in a cape. Incidentally, the nose has very good manners. My copy of this book also contained the story "Taras Bulbas," which isn't funny at all, but rather a romantic epic of Cossacks in the 14th century somewhat similar to Tolstoy's Cossack stories. Gogol's description of the time and place is fantastic awash in detail as it is. Description of battle is hair-raising and exciting. But Gogol romanticizes freely, and wants us to believe that these brutal, violent men embody the Russian Soul. (Note the capitalization.) Whatever. That, combined with a liberal dash of anti-Semitism, laces the work with enough flaw to consider this a 2nd-rate Gogol story. It's a great book and a quick read. One of the better books I have read lately.
Rating:
Summary: Definately worth knowing
Review: I actually read another collection of Gogol stories but I have read "Diary of a Madman", "The Nose", and "The Overcoat". The book is worth buying for Diary of a Madman or the Nose alone. These are both great stories that really show the uniqueness and talent of Gogol which seems even more amazing when thinking he was writing in the 19th Century. The Overcoat is a good story but the other two are classics and unbelieveable works of fantasy and social commentary that still seems relevant today.
Rating:
Summary: Definately worth knowing
Review: I actually read another collection of Gogol stories but I have read "Diary of a Madman", "The Nose", and "The Overcoat". The book is worth buying for Diary of a Madman or the Nose alone. These are both great stories that really show the uniqueness and talent of Gogol which seems even more amazing when thinking he was writing in the 19th Century. The Overcoat is a good story but the other two are classics and unbelieveable works of fantasy and social commentary that still seems relevant today.
Rating: 
Summary: Short stories from the Russian heartland.
Review: I am not as enamored of these Russian short stories as some of the other reviewers are. The last story about Bulba depicted Jews in a very demeaning way, and you can see the stereotypes of the Eastern European Jew written into a very interesting story.
Gogol was one of the great Russian writers, but the inclusion of this shows him to be an anti-Semite. Otherwise the stories are interesting and humorous of the Tsarist times. The story of the Russian bureaucrat pretending to be Fernando VIII of Spain starts out this book and is by far the best. The others are silly stories, and the last one about Bulba shows the Polish occupation of the Ukraine in medieval times. The first and last stories are by far the best, if you can stomach the anti-Semite tone in the latter story.
Overall, an interesting and slightly humorous read. This book gives you a picture of Russia in the times of the Tsar.
Rating:
Summary: 'The Greatcoat' is the finest short story ever written
Review: I have read 3 translations of this story and I like them all for different reasons. The story is very readable and has interesting interpretations on several levels. All the friends I recommended the story to loved it.
Rating:
Summary: diary of a madman - nikolai gogol
Review: i last read this play back in 1970 after seeing an amazing performance of it by english actor - peter prouse back in south africa. his depiction of the character was without comparison, as i have yet to witness an actor achieve what he did on stage - where many of the dinner guests pushed their food away from them and fled the scene; so powerful was his performance. i have always wanted to produce and act in my own interpretation of this work and may well do so now that i've finally found the book - again on amazon.com
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