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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Published in 1842, the book concerns a Russian named Chichikov who wants to use the Russian love of bureaucracy against the system and goes around the country buying up "dead souls" to inflate his prestige. In Russia at the time, serfs are like property of the landowners and can be bought, sold and traded and are accounted for on a landowners tax registries. Chichikov has a scheme to buy dead peasants who are still on the tax rolls, relieving the landowner of the taxes he'd have to pay while also making himself look like a rich landowner himself, which he hopes will help him actually establish himself as minor nobility. There were things I liked about this book, like the humor and some of the descriptions of nature. On the negative side, I found the pace a bit slow and the episodic nature of the plot doesn't necessarily drive you forward to find out what happens next. I'm glad I read it, but it wasn't one of my favorite "classic" novels.
Non è dato sapere dove Gogol avrebbe voluto portare il suo Cicikov, ma anche così, incompleta, quest'opera è un monumento alla satira.
Gogol avrebbe vita breve in quest'Italia di nani e ballerine, con il suo umorismo graffiante, lucido e spietato e la sua enorme capacità descrittiva.
Descrive i tipi che si incontravano nel grande impero Russo dei suoi tempi, con i loro (molti) vizi, l'incredibile autoindulgenza e le poche, molto nascoste virtù, ed ogni personaggio è così ben definito e caratterizzato da vederselo davanti come un ologramma, nel frac d'obbligo ai tempi, ma dotato di un'ombra perversa, in abiti moderni ...
Gogol avrebbe vita breve in quest'Italia di nani e ballerine, con il suo umorismo graffiante, lucido e spietato e la sua enorme capacità descrittiva.
Descrive i tipi che si incontravano nel grande impero Russo dei suoi tempi, con i loro (molti) vizi, l'incredibile autoindulgenza e le poche, molto nascoste virtù, ed ogni personaggio è così ben definito e caratterizzato da vederselo davanti come un ologramma, nel frac d'obbligo ai tempi, ma dotato di un'ombra perversa, in abiti moderni ...
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The novel is not complete, it was a little bit frustrating because it's an excellent novel. Dark, instructive and the writing style of Gogol is wonderful
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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
The first part is great. The second part is missing huge chunks and the third part is nearly missing altogether. Without an ending, it felt kind of pointless to read.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Why would a man buy dead souls? He doesn't want the bodies - just the souls.
This manuscript was found unfinished and published as is, but remarkable as ever.
This manuscript was found unfinished and published as is, but remarkable as ever.