Rating: 
Summary: Are We Not All Chichikovs
Review: Dead Souls, the most ambitious of all Gogol's works, dates back as far as 1835 and preoccupied its author until the publication of its first volume in 1842.Documentation that Gogol was working on Dead Souls comes in a letter to Pushkin, whom Gogol greatly admired, dated 7 October 1836. In this letter, Gogol informs Pushkin that, "I have begun to write Dead Souls. The plot has stretched out into a very long novel, and it will, I think, be extremely amusing. But now I've stopped it on the third chapter. I'm hunting for a good slanderer with whom one can become intimate. I want to show all Russia--at least from one side--in this novel." This is the first indication that Gogol was involved with something longer than his usual short stories, or as is the case with Taras Bulba, a novella. Only the first part of Dead Souls was actually completed by Gogol. The second part (some chapters of which are published with the first) is a recreation of what Gogol might have done with the continuation of his work; he actually burned the second part only nine days before his death. Dead Souls was originally published as The Adventures of Chichikov since religious censors at the time objected to the phrase "dead souls" as being theologically contradictory. As Dead Souls opens, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is traveling through the Russian countryside on business. He is, however, my no means, an idle wanderer. The situation from which Dead Souls develops is based upon a scheme which was theoretically possible in the Russia of Gogol's time. The government had a policy of loaning money to landowners, however, lands owned were measured, not in acres, or hectares, but by the number of "souls," i.e., serfs, residing on them. The government would accept the serfs as collateral for a loan to the owner. An individual possessed the number of "souls" recorded in the most recent census, with a new census being taken every ten years. In Dead Souls, Chichikov schemes to buy from the serf holders a number of "dead souls" who had, indeed, died, but were still counted as living until the next census. Once Chichikov had enough of these souls, he intended to apply for a loan and buy an actual country estate. Chichikov's business dealings with the landowners, like every facet of the novel, serves as a measuring stick for his own observations of Russian life. No two business dealings are alike, however. One of Gogol's greatest artistic achievements is that a recurring topic or theme never becomes predictable or boring. Each business transaction is different and impossible to predict: with the character Manilov, it is easy; with Sobakievich, it is tough going; with Nozdryov, the quintessential Russian peasant, impossible. Dead Souls is told by a narrator who is at times omniscient and at other times, not. The overall tone of the book is one of both humor and irony, although Gogol does become increasingly melancholic and lyrical near the end. While the narrator outwardly shows the characters and their actions great respect, he still manages to illustrate their folly, their coarseness and, at times, their ugliness. Gogol also revealed much about the characters in their names. This may or may not be apparent to the reader, depending on which translation he is reading, but the book can be enjoyed without knowing the irony behind Gogol's play on names. A continuing leitmotif in Dead Souls is that of marriage. We see in the various landowners their attitudes towards marriage and family life, none of which is particularly complimentary, although it is, at times, hilariously funny. Even Chichikov, himself, is a contented middle-aged bachelor. "What makes women so repulsive?" he, at one point, asks the world at large. Yet, even this contented bachelor, as we soon see, is not immune to the charms of a pretty face. Gogol introduces five landowners in the novel's first seven chapters, then moves away from the countryside back to town where Chichikov now plans to register the "deeds" he has purchased. His descriptions in this part of the novel are reminiscent of the situations and characters in The Overcoat and The Inspector General. An unexpected, but logical twist, occurs at the end of volume one in Chichikov's wild troika ride, with bells tinkling, signifying the glorification of Russia's own fast ride in history. Dead Souls is the epitome of what Gogol did best. It introduces a multitude of characters, varied settings, multitudinous detail and a scope grand enough to allow this amazing and very funny writer to elaborate on the very heart of Russian life to his own soul's content.
Rating:
Summary: One of the World's Funniest Novels
Review: First of all, Guerney's is the only translation worth getting. It was hailed as the finest in 1942. It is still the finest in 2002. (Kudos to Yale University Press for printing it.) Second, if you love the madcap humor of The Brothers Karamazov, in particular the lunacy of the father Fyodor Pavlovich, you will love Dead Souls. Dead Souls. Doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs does it? Doesn't sound a comic masterpiece, does it? It is. 11 chapters full of cheats, liers, swindlers, fawners, rogues, sycophants, and above all (or below all) -- human beings.
Rating:
Summary: From Russia with wicked fun...
Review: Gogol has created one of the best characters in all of literature. Is he a hero, or is he a rogue? Meanwhile Gogol gives us a glimpse of old Holy Russia in all its beauty, simplicity, sorrow, and of course, humor. The story is epic in form, but stylistically reminds me of Quixote. It is full of such brilliantly savage humor that you can't help embracing Gogol as a mad genius.
Rating:
Summary: sublime, witty and entertaining
Review: 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:
Summary: sublime, witty and entertaining
Review: 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:
Summary: Sadly Misunderstood
Review: Gogol was Russia's poetic observer of the true soul and character of the Russian peoples. A deep pessimist and a black humourist, but above all a realist tormented by love for his country, an all to acute understanding of his people, and hatred of the state. I vote 5 for this book because to read it is know and understand our Mother Russia and the people who still live the life that Gogol the poet described. Misunderstood perhaps due to its age it is treated as a "classic" and an "academic" work of literature. I urge you to read Gogol and understand our Russian soul. His last work was to be the nemesis of Dead Souls, but never written, because our Gogol was a realist who was tortured by the fact.
Rating:
Summary: Gogol's Maniacal Magnificence
Review: Gogol's "Dead Souls" is an amazing, if incomplete, novel. I would say it is about a fellow named Chichikov, but that would not be true. The novel is about Russia. In "Dead Souls" we see that Gogol loved Russia so much, it drove him mad trying to find a way to save it. The novel is entrancing, moving seamlessly between minute particularity to epic scope, as it takes all of Russia under its gaze. At times, the tone is satirical, angry, comic, even desperate - but always with a wistful fondness that should be apparent to the observant reader. Chichikov, the hero of Gogol's epic poem, shows the influence of Laurence Sterne's "Tristram Shandy," a novel with which Gogol was familiar. Like Shandy, we know little about Chichikov until well into the novel. This narrative indirection allows us more insight into the other characters and the conditions of Russia after the Napoleonic wars. Chichikov is a minor gentleman, who, having served in various government positions, decides to pursue the life of a land-owner. His scheme is to traverse Russia, gathering the legal rights to serfs who have died on estates since the last census. By turning an accumulated list of these 'dead souls' over to the government, he plans to make a small fortune, which he will use to buy an estate. While Chichikov may appear to be a morally questionable swindler, like Herman Melville's "Confidence-Man," he does have noble motivations, despite his methods. Chichikov seeks what each person seeks, according to Gogol - to have a family, to do honor to one's country. Although his plan can seem to be a ludicrous, last-ditch sort of effort at establishing himself, Chichikov is, throughout, extremely level-headed about it. Chichikov knows how to speak and carry himself so that he will be accepted by everyone he meets. From the noble, efficient land-owner Kostanjoglo to the wild, hilarious liar Nozdryov - Chichikov mingles with and exposes us to "the whirligig of men." Gogol points out throughout the novel that the written text is inadequate to convey the actual experience - the air, the sights, the smells, the people of Russia. He tries, then, to give us "a living book" - a testament to a way of life that was soon to change. Like Melville's "Confidence-Man," which was published shortly before the American Civil War, Gogol's "Dead Souls" came out only a few years before Marx's "Communist Manifesto" which would change and determine the fate of Russia in the first decades of the 20th century. Read the lyrical "Dead Souls" - if you like his short stories, like "The Nose" or "The Overcoat," - you will find a wonderfully complex and sophisticated, and deeply involved intellect at his best.
Rating:
Summary: Gogol's Maniacal Magnificence
Review: Gogol's "Dead Souls" is an amazing, if incomplete, novel. I would say it is about a fellow named Chichikov, but that would not be true. The novel is about Russia. In "Dead Souls" we see that Gogol loved Russia so much, it drove him mad trying to find a way to save it. The novel is entrancing, moving seamlessly between minute particularity to epic scope, as it takes all of Russia under its gaze. At times, the tone is satirical, angry, comic, even desperate - but always with a wistful fondness that should be apparent to the observant reader. Chichikov, the hero of Gogol's epic poem, shows the influence of Laurence Sterne's "Tristram Shandy," a novel with which Gogol was familiar. Like Shandy, we know little about Chichikov until well into the novel. This narrative indirection allows us more insight into the other characters and the conditions of Russia after the Napoleonic wars. Chichikov is a minor gentleman, who, having served in various government positions, decides to pursue the life of a land-owner. His scheme is to traverse Russia, gathering the legal rights to serfs who have died on estates since the last census. By turning an accumulated list of these 'dead souls' over to the government, he plans to make a small fortune, which he will use to buy an estate. While Chichikov may appear to be a morally questionable swindler, like Herman Melville's "Confidence-Man," he does have noble motivations, despite his methods. Chichikov seeks what each person seeks, according to Gogol - to have a family, to do honor to one's country. Although his plan can seem to be a ludicrous, last-ditch sort of effort at establishing himself, Chichikov is, throughout, extremely level-headed about it. Chichikov knows how to speak and carry himself so that he will be accepted by everyone he meets. From the noble, efficient land-owner Kostanjoglo to the wild, hilarious liar Nozdryov - Chichikov mingles with and exposes us to "the whirligig of men." Gogol points out throughout the novel that the written text is inadequate to convey the actual experience - the air, the sights, the smells, the people of Russia. He tries, then, to give us "a living book" - a testament to a way of life that was soon to change. Like Melville's "Confidence-Man," which was published shortly before the American Civil War, Gogol's "Dead Souls" came out only a few years before Marx's "Communist Manifesto" which would change and determine the fate of Russia in the first decades of the 20th century. Read the lyrical "Dead Souls" - if you like his short stories, like "The Nose" or "The Overcoat," - you will find a wonderfully complex and sophisticated, and deeply involved intellect at his best.
Rating:
Summary: Gogol's best!
Review: Gogol, that pure Russian soul, at his finest, funniest, most charming and feverish best... It is a shame he never finished it... threw the manuscript into the fire (fortunately there were copies)... but such is the tortured artist, the poetic soul: Gogol!
Rating:
Summary: ochen xopomo
Review: Having read this novel in both Russian and English, I marvel at the brilliance of this story. The many levels of text and subtext are simply enthralling. Anyone could enjoy this story. This is a true classic.
|
