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by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol,Christopher English,Robert A. Maguire

Author:	Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol,Christopher English,Robert A. Maguire
Subcategory:	History & Criticism
Language:	English
Publisher:	Oxford University Press; Edition Unstated edition (November 19, 1998)
Pages:	448 pages
Category:	Fiction and Literature
Rating:	4.5
Other formats:	docx doc lrf rtf

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Gogol's vision still holds true for today, a highly materialized world, maybe this classic will offer some seemingly antedeluvian advice on our very modern problem of. .This item: Dead Souls: A Poem (Oxford World's Classics).

Gogol's vision still holds true for today, a highly materialized world, maybe this classic will offer some seemingly antedeluvian advice on our very modern problem of ambition. After all, there is a dead-soul dealer in all of us, and Chichikov is far from the villian (as Gogol calls him "our hero"). 3 people found this helpful.

Items related to Dead Souls: A Poem (Oxford World's Classics). Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol Dead Souls: A Poem (Oxford World's Classics). ISBN 13: 9780199554669. Dead Souls: A Poem (Oxford World's Classics). Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol.

Oxford World's Classics. A superb new translation of one of the greatest comic works of Russian literature. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Nikolai Gogol, Christopher English. Everything within you is open, desolate, and flat; your squat towns barely protrude above the level of your wide plains, marking them like little dots, like specks; here is nothing to entice and fascinate the onlooker's gaze. Yet whence this unfathomable, uncanny force that draws me to you?'. Although Dead Souls (1842) was largely composed by Gogol during self-imposed exile in Italy in the late 1830s, his last work remains to this day the most essentially Russian of all the great novels in Russian literature.

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Oxford world's classics: Dead souls by Nikolai Gogol (Paperback) Amazing ValueTitle: Dead souls Series: Oxford world's classics Format: Paperback Type: BOOK Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks UK Release Date: 19980910.

Read full description. See details and exclusions. Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Paperback, 1998). Pre-owned: lowest price.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, Robert A. Maguire, Christopher English. Yet whence this unfathomable, uncanny force that draws me to you?'

Although Dead Souls (1842) was largely composed by Gogol during self-imposed exile in Italy in the late 1830s, his last work remains to this day the most essentially Russian of all the great novels in Russian literature. This new translation by Christopher English includes the surviving chapters and fragments of Part Two, and is complemented by an introductory essay by the pre-eminent Gogol scholar, Robert Maguire.

Gogol's tale of a dismissed civil servant turned unscrupulous confidence man is the most essentially Russian of all the great novels in Russian literature. With its rich and ebullient language, ironic twists, and cast of comedic characters, Dead Souls (1842) stands as one of the most dazzling and poetic masterpieces of the nineteenth century. This brilliant new translation by Christopher English is complemented by a superb introductory essay by the pre-eminent Gogol scholar, Robert Maguire.

Comments:

Blacknight

Good translation of a funny book. I love Gogol. He also wrote "The Inspector General". The book itself is well bound for a paperback. I used it in a Russian Literature class so it really took some abuse. It held together very well.

Darkraven

Before moving onto Gogol's most famed piece, I had the chance to savour a taste of his folklore side through Taras Bulba. The Ukaranian native possesses what I understand to be the Russian soul, not something restrained by political boundaries, but a sense of humour, a sense of understanding, and a sense of wisdom unique only to the Russian people. Dead Souls is the perfect example of such a combination. The story evolves around up-start Chichikov's clandestine pursuit of wealth through the purchase of dead souls which leads onto other intrigues more heinous on the surface. As he arrives at one town after another, he dazzles the society with his superb taste and exquisite character, yet behind his "wonderfully humble nod of the head", lies a corrupted soul that is bringing out everyone's darkest ambitions. With hundreds of "wise phrases", this book is a true allegory--Gogol drags the readers on with the dark humour, only to lead them to the feet of a supreme realization. The author also took special care to name his characters such as their names stand for something specific in the Russian language. Surely few expects to discover much as the chase for truth dashes through episode after episode of innocent funnies, yet when you do get there, you realize you have already garnered much on the way, the humour comes back as the simplest truth.
The hiatus was of some problem, but a good edition offers the chance to patch up the missing pieces at the end. As some other review mentioned, the ultimate irony is the fact that Chichikov is the true dead soul, devoid of morality, blinded by greed, and chastised by the very travesty of justice--a crippled system that is manipulated by dead souls such as Chichikov. Indeed, this is a piece of literature that makes one ponder long after the last page is turned. There are just so many hidden switches that trigger the senses and tantalizes one's security about our world. Gogol's vision still holds true for today, a highly materialized world, maybe this classic will offer some seemingly antedeluvian advice on our very modern problem of ambition. After all, there is a dead-soul dealer in all of us, and Chichikov is far from the villian (as Gogol calls him "our hero").

IWantYou

The plot is simple: Pavel Chichikov arrives to a provincial capital of Russia, impresses everyone with his social skills, gets adopted by the "high society" of the town, and then sets out to business: trying to persuade landowners (who are also lifeowners) to give or sell to him all the peasants who have died since the last census. These people, although dead, still generate taxes for the owner, so in principle it is convenient for them. But, of course, everyone asks themselves: "Why would anyone want to buy dead people who cause taxes?". I won't spoil the plot by giving the answer. The important thing is that Gogol uses this plot to paint an exhilarating (but in fact sad) portrait of the Russian society of his time, and of human nature in any time and place, which gives this novel its status as a classic work of art. Corruption, stupidity, naiveté, extreme individualism instead of a spirit of community, and other social vices, present in any society, are represented here by the very funny characters created by the author. Every landowner is a particular form of strange person, procuring Chichikov with crazy adventures. Gogol's writing intersperses the narrative with social reflection and thoughts on human nature, never boring or pretentious, but always funny and satirical. In fact, Gogol's irony and cynicism are probably the most valuable assets of this novel. It belongs to that literary family of books which portray heroes or anti-heores, wandering around, pursuing a fixed, idealized goal. Sometimes this goal is foolish but noble (like Don Quixote), sometimes it is narrow or despicable. These characters illustrate the virtues and vices of us humans, and that makes them live through the centuries. "Dead souls" is undoubtedly a dignifed member of that family, a book which will make you laugh, think and laugh again. By the way, another valuable thing is the way in which Gogol depicts the Russian countryside.

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