DIARY OF A MADMAN AND OTHER STORIES [Mass Market Paperback]

Nikolai Gogol (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Penguin Books (1986)
• ASIN: B001J8O7SS
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Introduction (Penguin Edition), October 14, 2000

By 

Bruce Kendall "BEK" (Southern Pines, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Diary of a Madman and Other Stories (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Nikolai Gogol had an extraordinarily important influence on Russian literature. A contemporary and friend of Pushkin, he left his mark in several areas, as playwright, novelist and short-story writer. Every Russian writer to come after him acknowledges and reveres Gogol, from Dostoevsky to Bulgakov and on. This collection is a great introduction to Gogol. All of his most famous stories are included. "Diary of a Madman" shows us the disintegrating psyche of a minor civil servant during the era of the repressive rule of Nicholas I. Gogol had problems with Nicholas' censors (who were as vigilant as Stalin's) and he didn't exactly ingratiate himself with this depiction of bureaucratic malaise. The second short-story in the volume, "The Nose," again pokes fun at officialdom, but also takes us on a proto-magical-realism ride through mid-eighteenth century St. Petersburg (As an aside, you can currently take St. Petersburg tours of Gogol's fictional landscape, just as you can Dostoevsky's, [and Bulgakov's Moscow]). The third entry in the collection, "The Overcoat," deals again with an inconsequential bureaucrat (guess what Gogol's background was?) , whose entire existence is wrapped around a new overcoat. Suffice it to say that the story does not end happily for poor Akaky Akakievich. This is in some ways Gogol's signature piece. The story basically involves us in a humorous, at times capricious narrative, but the humor is infused with a great deal of pathos, to the point where we can almost call these tragicomedies.

The longest story in the collection, "How Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich," is a case-in-point. On the surface, it is a humorous account of two provincial boobs engaged in protracted enmity as a result of an inconsequential incident. However, at heart, Gogol is saying a great deal about Russian society, and the human condition, at the same time, and the picture is neither pretty nor funny. This is his most successful short story in many respects, imbued with wisdom and local color. Gogol is the most human and humane of Russian authors, but that does not mean that he is anywhere near the greatest, as a result. It would be left to the giants, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, to truly establish Russia as a birthplace of great writers. But it is to this warmth of spirit that the Russian people and its literati have responded to so fervently for so many years. Gogol, of course, is well represented as a novelist for Dead Souls (or Chichikov's Journeys). He also attempted a Russian epic (Taras Bulba). For most modern readers, however, the stories are the most accessible and the most universally revered as regards his literary output. Give this volume a chance, and if you like the stories, turn your attention to Dead Souls, which is indeed worth reading.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Russian Literature, December 14, 2007

By 

JMack (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories: The Nose; The Carriage; The Overcoat; Taras Bulba (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

I only became familiar with Gogol through references in the work of Philip Roth. After all, great writers should give their due to their predecessors. Five of Gogol's most celebrated short stories are included in this collection. While I can only classify myself as a fan of three of these stories, this collection is still worth purchasing.

"The Diary of a Madman" harkens Kafka-esque images of man versus isolation and the bureaucracy in the story of one man's sometimes humorous spiral into madness. Scorned in love and work, the main character retreats into an alternate reality. "The Nose", the story of a runaway body part, possesses elements of Kafka's "Metamorphisis". A fiction that borders on absurdity can still be frightening. It brings to mind that the superficial image one presents in society is too important. "The Overcoat", having themes of superficiality and prized possessions, is a peculiar tale. Taunted by his co-workers for the condition of his overcoat, the main character makes many sacrifices to replace his coat. To a point, the new overcoat becomes more of an obsession than it should.

While "The Carriage" and "Taras Bulba" are also included in the set, I do not believe they carry the same feeling as the other stories. To a degree, "Taras Bubla" almost seemed out of place in the set. The collection of short stories is enjoyable and highly recommended to lovers of literature. It brings the thought to mind of what other works of literature were hidden from American eyes by communism.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Diary of a Madman, January 28, 2001

By 

BMH (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories: The Nose; The Carriage; The Overcoat; Taras Bulba (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

The short stories in this collection were very like those of Kafka, with the disorienting magical realism and the undercurrent of despair, although Gogol is the more blackly humourous of the two writers. Andrew MacAndrew's translation is a bit peculiar, however; for the Diary of a Madman, he mysteriously altered the structure of the vignettes (there is one less section than in other versions) and removed the name of the narrator. There are also a few irregularities in his version of The Nose. Work by other translators may be more reliable.