Customer Reviews

Dead Souls: A Poem (Oxford World's Classics)

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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.

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.

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").

Dead Souls, the most ambitious of all Gogol's works, dates back as far as 1835 and preoccupied its author until the publication of its first volume in 1842.

Documentation that Gogol was working on Dead Souls comes in a letter to Pushkin, whom Gogol greatly admired, dated 7 October 1836. In this letter, Gogol informs Pushkin that, "I have begun to write Dead Souls. The plot has stretched out into a very long novel, and it will, I think, be extremely amusing. But now I've stopped it on the third chapter. I'm hunting for a good slanderer with whom one can become intimate. I want to show all Russia--at least from one side--in this novel." This is the first indication that Gogol was involved with something longer than his usual short stories, or as is the case with Taras Bulba, a novella.

Only the first part of Dead Souls was actually completed by Gogol. The second part (some chapters of which are published with the first) is a recreation of what Gogol might have done with the continuation of his work; he actually burned the second part only nine days before his death.

Dead Souls was originally published as The Adventures of Chichikov since religious censors at the time objected to the phrase "dead souls" as being theologically contradictory.

As Dead Souls opens, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is traveling through the Russian countryside on business. He is, however, my no means, an idle wanderer.

The situation from which Dead Souls develops is based upon a scheme which was theoretically possible in the Russia of Gogol's time. The government had a policy of loaning money to landowners, however, lands owned were measured, not in acres, or hectares, but by the number of "souls," i.e., serfs, residing on them. The government would accept the serfs as collateral for a loan to the owner.

An individual possessed the number of "souls" recorded in the most recent census, with a new census being taken every ten years. In Dead Souls, Chichikov schemes to buy from the serf holders a number of "dead souls" who had, indeed, died, but were still counted as living until the next census. Once Chichikov had enough of these souls, he intended to apply for a loan and buy an actual country estate.

Chichikov's business dealings with the landowners, like every facet of the novel, serves as a measuring stick for his own observations of Russian life. No two business dealings are alike, however. One of Gogol's greatest artistic achievements is that a recurring topic or theme never becomes predictable or boring. Each business transaction is different and impossible to predict: with the character Manilov, it is easy; with Sobakievich, it is tough going; with Nozdryov, the quintessential Russian peasant, impossible.

Dead Souls is told by a narrator who is at times omniscient and at other times, not. The overall tone of the book is one of both humor and irony, although Gogol does become increasingly melancholic and lyrical near the end.

While the narrator outwardly shows the characters and their actions great respect, he still manages to illustrate their folly, their coarseness and, at times, their ugliness.

Gogol also revealed much about the characters in their names. This may or may not be apparent to the reader, depending on which translation he is reading, but the book can be enjoyed without knowing the irony behind Gogol's play on names.

A continuing leitmotif in Dead Souls is that of marriage. We see in the various landowners their attitudes towards marriage and family life, none of which is particularly complimentary, although it is, at times, hilariously funny. Even Chichikov, himself, is a contented middle-aged bachelor. "What makes women so repulsive?" he, at one point, asks the world at large. Yet, even this contented bachelor, as we soon see, is not immune to the charms of a pretty face.

Gogol introduces five landowners in the novel's first seven chapters, then moves away from the countryside back to town where Chichikov now plans to register the "deeds" he has purchased. His descriptions in this part of the novel are reminiscent of the situations and characters in The Overcoat and The Inspector General.

An unexpected, but logical twist, occurs at the end of volume one in Chichikov's wild troika ride, with bells tinkling, signifying the glorification of Russia's own fast ride in history.

Dead Souls is the epitome of what Gogol did best. It introduces a multitude of characters, varied settings, multitudinous detail and a scope grand enough to allow this amazing and very funny writer to elaborate on the very heart of Russian life to his own soul's content.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS


TITLE: Dead Souls

AUTHOR: Nikolai Gogol

TRANSLATOR: Christopher English

PLOT: Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov has been dismissed from civil service, but not all hope is lost. He decides to stroll across the Russian countryside in order to reach his goal. And that goal involves deceased citizens of every kind.

CHARACTERS: Chichikov almost creeps me out (he's like a Russian Sweeney Todd). He can be calm on the outside, but impatient on the inside. The mystery of his goals affect his friends and his servants as they start to have an urge on why he wants to collect the names of `dead souls'. Nozdryov is particularly a memorable supporting character. At first he's kind to his good companions, and then, as he thinks boredom strikes, he aggressively defends their friendship. Selifan and Petrushka, Chichikov's servants, provide a bit of comic relief for their parts. Khlobuev is very likeable as he helps Chichikov in dire need near the end.

PACING: Part One of "Dead Souls" has an almost perfect pacing. There are never too many descriptive narratives nor does it have too little. The journeys of Chichikov almost never drag, and the introductions of supporting characters won't make you throw this book away. It's Part Two that slows the whole story down. The introductions to new characters are much more descriptive, and the narrative paragraphs seem to last forever.

THE WRITING ITSELF: Christopher English's English translation is a mixed bag. For the good side, he perfectly selects adverbs and adjectives. He also makes sure that Gogol's dramatic language remains in his own. For the bad side, I think he might've ignored much of the ironic/satirical humor, as some passages didn't make me smile at all. But I guess it's just me, and maybe other people have enjoyed this rendition as much as Robert Maguire's rendition.

And finally, it's a good thing that the supposedly `final chapter' is included here. We would get to know how Gogol wanted to start on a non-existent Part Three.

OVERALL: Despite a mediocre translation, "Dead Souls" is a comic classic in Russian literature. It's as anti-heroic as Lermontov's "A Hero of our Time", and as lyrical as Pushkin's poem "Eugene Onegin". It's a must-read. B+