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A review by anusha_reads
The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol
5.0
THE OVERCOAT BY NIKOLAI GOGOL
A story about this titular councillor Akakiy Akakievitch Bashmatchkin, a government clerk whose primary work was to copy. (They did not have photocopying machines then!), mainly letters and other important documents. A simple man who was an introvert, with no special needs or requirements, he enjoyed his job thoroughly and even refuses his promotion. He was the butt of everybody’s joke in the office. He sported this frayed overcoat which had become so threadbare that even the tailor refuses to mend it and he is forced to buy another overcoat. He earns a meagre sum with which he cannot afford one. Here is where the story builds up.
The overcoat is symbolic of capitalism? Wants? Desires? Greed? The overcoat affects him psychologically too. From nobody he becomes somebody
It mocks the system prevailing at that time.
I felt awfully bad for Akakiy and sometimes even we are faced by such people who wouldn’t cooperate or help.
Vladimir Nabokov called it “The greatest Russian short story ever written” (Source: Wikipedia)
It is a very relatable story with twist in the tale.
An easy read must read!
A story about this titular councillor Akakiy Akakievitch Bashmatchkin, a government clerk whose primary work was to copy. (They did not have photocopying machines then!), mainly letters and other important documents. A simple man who was an introvert, with no special needs or requirements, he enjoyed his job thoroughly and even refuses his promotion. He was the butt of everybody’s joke in the office. He sported this frayed overcoat which had become so threadbare that even the tailor refuses to mend it and he is forced to buy another overcoat. He earns a meagre sum with which he cannot afford one. Here is where the story builds up.
The overcoat is symbolic of capitalism? Wants? Desires? Greed? The overcoat affects him psychologically too. From nobody he becomes somebody
It mocks the system prevailing at that time.
I felt awfully bad for Akakiy and sometimes even we are faced by such people who wouldn’t cooperate or help.
Vladimir Nabokov called it “The greatest Russian short story ever written” (Source: Wikipedia)
It is a very relatable story with twist in the tale.
An easy read must read!