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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Social criticism with a great sense of humor, January 9, 2001
The plot is simple: Pavel Chichikov arrives to a provincial capital of Russia, impresses everyone with his social skills, gets adopted by the "high society" of the town, and then sets out to business: trying to persuade landowners (who are also lifeowners) to give or sell to him all the peasants who have died since the last census. These people, although dead, still generate taxes for the owner, so in principle it is convenient for them. But, of course, everyone asks themselves: "Why would anyone want to buy dead people who cause taxes?". I won't spoil the plot by giving the answer. The important thing is that Gogol uses this plot to paint an exhilarating (but in fact sad) portrait of the Russian society of his time, and of human nature in any time and place, which gives this novel its status as a classic work of art. Corruption, stupidity, naiveté, extreme individualism instead of a spirit of community, and other social vices, present in any society, are represented here by the very funny characters created by the author. Every landowner is a particular form of strange person, procuring Chichikov with crazy adventures. Gogol's writing intersperses the narrative with social reflection and thoughts on human nature, never boring or pretentious, but always funny and satirical. In fact, Gogol's irony and cynicism are probably the most valuable assets of this novel. It belongs to that literary family of books which portray heroes or anti-heores, wandering around, pursuing a fixed, idealized goal. Sometimes this goal is foolish but noble (like Don Quixote), sometimes it is narrow or despicable. These characters illustrate the virtues and vices of us humans, and that makes them live through the centuries. "Dead souls" is undoubtedly a dignifed member of that family, a book which will make you laugh, think and laugh again. By the way, another valuable thing is the way in which Gogol depicts the Russian countryside.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sadly Misunderstood, January 12, 2001
Gogol was Russia's poetic observer of the true soul and character of the Russian peoples. A deep pessimist and a black humourist, but above all a realist tormented by love for his country, an all to acute understanding of his people, and hatred of the state. I vote 5 for this book because to read it is know and understand our Mother Russia and the people who still live the life that Gogol the poet described. Misunderstood perhaps due to its age it is treated as a "classic" and an "academic" work of literature. I urge you to read Gogol and understand our Russian soul. His last work was to be the nemesis of Dead Souls, but never written, because our Gogol was a realist who was tortured by the fact.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A treasure of ironies, July 13, 2000
Before moving onto Gogol's most famed piece, I had the chance to savour a taste of his folklore side through Taras Bulba. The Ukaranian native possesses what I understand to be the Russian soul, not something restrained by political boundaries, but a sense of humour, a sense of understanding, and a sense of wisdom unique only to the Russian people. Dead Souls is the perfect example of such a combination. The story evolves around up-start Chichikov's clandestine pursuit of wealth through the purchase of dead souls which leads onto other intrigues more heinous on the surface. As he arrives at one town after another, he dazzles the society with his superb taste and exquisite character, yet behind his "wonderfully humble nod of the head", lies a corrupted soul that is bringing out everyone's darkest ambitions. With hundreds of "wise phrases", this book is a true allegory--Gogol drags the readers on with the dark humour, only to lead them to the feet of a supreme realization. The author also took special care to name his characters such as their names stand for something specific in the Russian language. Surely few expects to discover much as the chase for truth dashes through episode after episode of innocent funnies, yet when you do get there, you realize you have already garnered much on the way, the humour comes back as the simplest truth. The hiatus was of some problem, but a good edition offers the chance to patch up the missing pieces at the end. As some other review mentioned, the ultimate irony is the fact that Chichikov is the true dead soul, devoid of morality, blinded by greed, and chastised by the very travesty of justice--a crippled system that is manipulated by dead souls such as Chichikov. Indeed, this is a piece of literature that makes one ponder long after the last page is turned. There are just so many hidden switches that trigger the senses and tantalizes one's security about our world. Gogol's vision still holds true for today, a highly materialized world, maybe this classic will offer some seemingly antedeluvian advice on our very modern problem of ambition. After all, there is a dead-soul dealer in all of us, and Chichikov is far from the villian (as Gogol calls him "our hero").
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