Reviews - Racconti di Pietroburgo

Brillant Gogol encore une fois! Je ne l’avais pas lu depuis les Âmes Mortes et je suis ravi de retrouver sa plume. Sa façon d’écrire des nouvelles qui mêlent l’absurde et le fantastique est prodigieux. Très critique envers la bureaucratie et le fonctionnariat, on ressent toujours à travers ces 5 nouvelles des degrés successifs de la misère, de la folie et de la superficialité. Ces nouvelles sont dôtés d’une profondeur psychologique à faire peur ainsi qu’une description de Pétersbourg comme un asile à ciel ouvert. Des nouvelles à saveur humoristique qui font réfléchir!

kq5's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

anad41's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

missrerr's review against another edition

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5.0

Gogol's stories present a world that is just far too strange to make any sense of it (but you don't need necessarily need to, and I, for one, prefer it that way). The hilariously absurd characters and descriptions make for a laugh-out-loud read that will make you begin to wonder about the very world we ourselves know to be reality. Reading Gogol is pure pleasure, but at the same time so thought-provoking in terms of its underlying statements about perception and how much it relates to one's overall sense of existence in the world.

ver4's review against another edition

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3.0

I believe I am not and will never be a big fan of the fantastical elements that seem to pop up in some Russian literature, and these stories do have quite a bit of them, which is why I can't rate them higher than 3 stars. Still, I enjoyed "The Nose" because it is just so absurd and funny, and "The Overcoat" was very gripping. I didn't really like "Nevsky Prospekt" -- though it was a great introductory story for a collection of stories set in Petersburg -- and "Diary of a Madman". Both were just too much and felt a little pointless to me.

velax1's review against another edition

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1.0

So my dislike for Gogol was not just a youthful ignorance - I do indeed not like his work. I'm always tempted to compare with Chekhov, my all time favourite when it comes to Russian classics, and Gogol's stories lose in every possible regard: less funny, less touching, less exact, less special. It might not be a fair comparison, given how Chekhov came so much later, but still: Gogol's stories are neither funny nor really tragic, but leave me somehow terribly indifferent. And what is worse than this?

milenita's review

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5.0

" Siamo tutti usciti dal Cappotto di Gogol' "
- Fëdor Dostoevskij -

whimsically_ours's review against another edition

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3.0

3/5 pour ce recueil de nouvelles parce que je n'ai pas pris plaisir tout le long de ma lecture. Il faut dire que c'est un genre auquel je ne suis pas habitué un peu entre réalisme et fantastique, on dirait du Maupassant sous stéroïdes. Je pense que ces textes valent le détour mais je n'ai malheureusement pas tous les éléments pour les apprécier pleinement

b0okworm12's review

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3.0

Lettura fatta nel corso di qualche anno, ma ho terminato la raccolta in questo mese!
I racconti che mi sono piaciuti di più sono stati Prospettiva Nevskij e Il ritratto, mentre gli altri meno in quanto assurdi oltre il limite della fantasia e non sono amante del genere!

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