Dead Souls [Paperback]

Nikolai Gogol (Author), Robert A. Maguire (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: December 28, 2004

Dead Souls is one of the most unusual works of nineteenth-century fiction and a devastating satire on social hypocrisy. Chichikov, a mysterious stranger, arrives in a provincial town and visits a succession of landowners to make each a strange offer. He proposes to buy the names of dead serfs still registered on the census, saving their owners from paying tax on them, and to use these “souls” as collateral to reinvent himself as a gentleman. In this ebullient masterpiece, Gogol created a grotesque gallery of human types, from the bear-like Sobakevich to the insubstantial fool Manilov, and, above all, the devilish con man Chichikov.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Gogol was a strange creature, but then genius is always strange. (Vladimir Nabokov)

About the Author

Nikolai Gogol (1809–1852) was born in Ukraine and left for St. Petersburg at the age of nineteen. From 1836 to 1848 he lived mainly in Rome, where he wrote Dead Souls. Robert A. Maguire is professor emeritus of Russian studies at Columbia University. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and several other awards for his studies and published works.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140448071
• ISBN-13: 978-0140448078
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 0.9 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Translation!, May 31, 2006

By 

N. Lee (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Souls (Paperback)

Robert Maguire's translation of _Dead Souls_ is the best one out on the market right now. It is even superior to that of the superstar Russian novel translation-duo Pevear & Volkhonsky (their translation, however, is also worth purchasing, as well as all of their other ones). Robert Maguire was a Gogol specialist and had an intimate understanding of this particular work.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic of Russian humor, October 31, 2005

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Dead Souls (Paperback)

This is considered one of the great works of Russian Literature. The ambitious Chichikov schemes to buy up the 'dead souls'( The names of serfs who have died since the last census and are not listed officially as dead) from their previous owners. In doing so he hopes to establish himself as the owner of many ' souls' and by pawning the souls become a wealthy man.
In doing this he travels through Russia meeting a variety of odd and interesting characters. One character,Manilov gives his souls free of charge. Another the greedy Korobotchka makes a bargain of fifteen rubles per soul. Sobakevitch demands a hundred rubles but his rudeness gets him only two- and - one half rubles per soul.
Chichikov pulls it off for a time, is recognized as wealthy, has many ladies running after him, but is last exposed by a character, Nozdrev, who has refused to make a bargain with him.
Gogol's fiercely satirical humor has made this work a Russian reader's delight.
I am not sure however that the humor and the delight translate very well to English.

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Kindle version NOT the Maguire translation, April 9, 2008

By 

John Schaffer Work - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Souls (Penguin Classics) (Kindle Edition)

I found "Dead Souls" through the Amazon search and clicked on the hardbound Maguire translation. The 6 customer reviews extoled the Maguire version as one of the better ones. The webpage also mentioned a Kindle version and included a link. I clicked the link. The same customer reviews appeared as for the hardbound version. There was no contradicting information about the translator, so I bought expecting the Kindle version of the Maguire translations. When I opened the Kindle version, I was surprised to see credits for translation by D.J. Hogarth. This difference should be made clear, especially when the reviews on the same page extol the Maguire version and you don't get that translation.