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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Funnier than I had expected. Sections where prices for souls were haggled over were always good, especially the one where a receipt was requested. Due to not getting much info about him early in the book and because of his strange request of the landowners, Chichikov almost doesn't feel like a person at first. We do get told about his middling social rank, so that detail standing alone does feel intentional. Definitely an unusual timeline to be told personal details, as we get a lot more info about Chichikov's background at the end.
The author cutting in to speak directly was always interesting. Felt like he loved traveling even to small towns. The story made me think about organized crime and that idea of, you must participate in the misdeeds and not doing so will actually harm you.
I also enjoyed the split of how the town reacted to the "pursuit" of the Governor's daughter and the purchase of souls.
The author cutting in to speak directly was always interesting. Felt like he loved traveling even to small towns. The story made me think about organized crime and that idea of, you must participate in the misdeeds and not doing so will actually harm you.
I also enjoyed the split of how the town reacted to the "pursuit" of the Governor's daughter and the purchase of souls.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(Five stars for Part One. The fragment of part two, though it did have its moments, was mostly disappointing)
Fun and clever but the gaps in Book 2 made me even more insecure than usual that I had missed something by letting my attention wander. How intentional were the gaps? Was the burned manuscript a complete narrative or did it, too, contain breaks in the action?
The author's note preceding Book 1, in which he instructs the reader to please write to him to tell him all about various Russian "types" that he might have missed or not described correctly struck me as very strange.
There are a lot of different translations of Dead Souls to English. I read the Hogarth translation which I believe was a rather early one. Was more material from Book 2 recovered after this translation? (Seems unlikely.) Should I have gone with a different translation?
The author's note preceding Book 1, in which he instructs the reader to please write to him to tell him all about various Russian "types" that he might have missed or not described correctly struck me as very strange.
There are a lot of different translations of Dead Souls to English. I read the Hogarth translation which I believe was a rather early one. Was more material from Book 2 recovered after this translation? (Seems unlikely.) Should I have gone with a different translation?
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
reflective
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:
Yes
I’m normally a fan of Russian lit but I found this extremely tedious. There are some funny clever moments but I struggled to get through the book. I know the second part is unfinished which contributes to this. I do think reading this in a lit class would have improved my experience.
slow-paced
i mean it’s funny. part 2 is kinda incoherent (i mean, makes sense bc it isn’t finished). gogol really REALLY likes to talk. he will go so deep into a metaphor he begins to describe a completely different story. really easy to get through. dense but not as bad as i was expecting.