Reviews - Dead Souls | The StoryGraph

967 reviews for:

Dead Souls

Nikolai Gogol

3.79 AVERAGE

millelux's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ad_lelou's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark funny reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

debgpi's review against another edition

5.0

I have meant to read this book since my Russian studies days, but never got around to it. A great book. Beware: it's an unfinished novel and nothing is resolved. And you may want a more recent translation than the one I used (1920s).

frag's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous funny slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

alex_ellermann's review against another edition

3.0

‘Dead Souls’ is a satirical novel from 1842 Russia. Considered a classic of both comic and Russian literary traditions, it tells the story of a fast-talker who has hit up on a scheme to buy up rights to serfs who have died since the last census. Why? I’ll let you discover that for yourself.

This is a funny story, told a fast clip. Author Nickolai Gogol writes in a friendly voice, giving the reader the impression of one sitting on a barstool and listening to his buddy tell a great story. ‘Dead Souls’ isn’t just a comedy, however. It’s also a satire on human nature in general and Czarist Russia in particular.

That said, this novel is so much of its time and place that it didn’t resonate with me as strongly as it might have with others. While I enjoyed Gogol’s take on the universal human experience, I didn’t particularly care about his commentary on Russian culture.

If you aren’t Russian, I think you’ll like ‘Dead Souls.’ If you are, I think you’ll love it. YMMV.