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A review by teresatumminello
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
4.0
Perhaps due to the title, "Dead Souls" was very different from what I thought it would be. It's not gloomy or ponderous at all, but funny and satirical. It's also written in an engaging style.
It has a lot to say to and about 19th century Russia -- and to human nature in general. Because Gogol never finished it, it ends up being a picaresque novel with hints of things to come. Gogol himself seemed to have changed quite a bit (though he denied it) after writing the part that was published, and it makes me wonder how much his main character would've changed, especially after reading some of the unpublished drafts of his proposed Part Two for "Dead Souls."
It has a lot to say to and about 19th century Russia -- and to human nature in general. Because Gogol never finished it, it ends up being a picaresque novel with hints of things to come. Gogol himself seemed to have changed quite a bit (though he denied it) after writing the part that was published, and it makes me wonder how much his main character would've changed, especially after reading some of the unpublished drafts of his proposed Part Two for "Dead Souls."