Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Atualizando o Goodreads, e remexendo um pouco na memória, lembrei que Almas Mortas foi o primeiro clássico que li de verdade (em 2020!), o primeiro romance que li até o final (bem, meio que não tem final mesmo), e o primeiro dos russos. Daqui para trás só tinha lido contos e coleção de contos (como, bem…, meio que faço até hoje, sou muito mais leitor de narrativas curtas que de longas), e uns outros romances esparsos que não tinha ido até o fim [Shogum, Musashi — meus primeiros interesses literários totalmente por causa dos mangás]. Lembro que me diverti muito com o Tchitchikov (será que é assim que escreve?) e com toda a narrativa maluca: por que caralhos o cara tá comprando Almas Mortas?! Quebrou todo um medo que eu tinha de clássicos & de russos, etc. Ainda lembro muito bem de algumas cenas, vide quando começam a especular quem ele é de verdade, e vai escalonando até chegar na conclusão de que ele é o Napoleão. Vou lembrar de recomendá-lo mais vezes; e marcar aqui para reler, agora que tenho um pouco mais de bagagem — na verdade, forçando muito, se tratando de russos, tenho no máximo uma mochilinha, mas vomos que vomos.
slow-paced
adventurous
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
This is one of the funniest books I have read. I was cracking up all over the place. Probably dragged on a bit too long, there is one point where he basically talks about classical paintings/porn and why people will always be excited by those pictures when they're in a library full of boring, dull books and have the option to pull out a scandalous book of photos.
Ingeniously funny, cracked me up, too bad the ending is missing
Ingeniously funny, cracked me up, too bad the ending is missing
I'm vaguely reminded of CMOT Dibbler from Discworld. This is high praise.
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a reread after 15 years. First I read it when I was in highschool and it was in Croatian. That time I was so enthralled by it that it immediately became my favorite book of all time. Now after reading it in English after so many years I can say it still is one of the best books I've read. I started reading a Volokhonsky/Pevear translation but switched to Guilbert Guerney after reading a review here on SG. I would also recommend GG translation, it was so flowy and it felt a bit more natural, also less posh.
Dead Souls is truly a chronicle of Gogol's time and his masterpiece despite being unfinished. I will be definitely coming back to it and maybe I will have a more comprehensive review after future rereads.
Dead Souls is truly a chronicle of Gogol's time and his masterpiece despite being unfinished. I will be definitely coming back to it and maybe I will have a more comprehensive review after future rereads.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
You don't often find this much humor in 19th-century Russian lit, but Gogol is the master of it. Witty political condemnation of the Russian infrastructure, in which the main character collects "dead souls" or the people who have died since the last census, in a mad scheme.