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Dead Souls
A satirical novel originally published in 1842, this was meant as a trilogy but only the first part is complete.
(Second Edition published in 1846)
English translation by C. J. Hogarth.
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Dead Souls by Nikolia Gogol
Dead Souls by Nikolia Gogol I have now finished Dead Souls by Nikolia Gogol and after a few early concerns about where the story was actually heading and the meandering narrative; the second half of this novella exceeded my expectations and proved that this is indeed a brilliant piece of work and a superb social commentary on 19th century Russia. Nikolia Gogol showed his concerns about Russia declining moral/religious standards of various different classes and the consequences of this on society on a whole. This is a perfect example of cause and effect or the ripple effect. Tolstoy explored these ideas in the “Forged Coupon”. This novella showed how much esteem that Nikolia Gogol held in Russia and there is fervent nationalist pride running all the way through the book. Gogol brilliantly captured the symbolism of Russian landscape relating to modern day Russia. The only novelist whom has captured scenery and with such descriptive brilliance is Tolstoy. A sign of a great novelist is the ability to create humanity and build empathy in characters. Even though Chichikov had many faults, that were initially difficult to understand, towards the latter stages of this novel, when Gogol gives the background to his main character you begin to understand his soul and life complexities which have lead him to his eventual imprisonment. It is a real shame that this character was not fully realised in a second and third volume. Unfortunately, I think that that Gogol intended humour, irony, wit and satire may have been lost in translation. Nonetheless, there were lines and situations which will stay with me and I dare say will not be bettered. Gogol’s observations are funny because we have seen them all before and possibly even have acted like many of the characters in this marvellous work. I liked the way that Gogol bought to life men and women but also horses, dogs and other wildlife. They all were given their own characteristics and were not just there as fillers. Did anyone else enjoy Dead Souls as much as I did and how many stars would you give it out of 10. I would also be delighted to hear your thoughts on Dead Souls.
Posted By PrinceAndrei at Wed 11 Apr 2007, 6:16 AM in Dead Souls || 1 Reply