Gogol called "Dead Souls" a poem, thereby declaring the elevated structure and grandiose scale of his cherished work. Meanwhile, what is offered to the reader is a comic story about how a seemingly well-intentioned and unremarkable man of middling stature (though secretly, perhaps, a Napoleon) pulls off an incredible scam, hoodwinking some "primitive existents," bargaining with others, and suddenly meeting with a crushing rebuff from still others, who by no means shine with intellect or virtue. Upon the release of the first volume of the poem, part of the public read it as a malicious mockery of an eternally dead country inhabited by people without souls, but for other readers, Gogol’s work became a revelation of a realm of temporarily invisible saints and heroes, a prophecy of the future greatness of Russia and the Russian people. For more than a century and a half, readers of different temperaments have been trying to fathom what Chichikov's business venture is supposed to amount to, who is swaying in the cozy carriage, and where Rus' is rushing to.
Author: Nikolai Gogol
Pages: 352 (offset). Hardcover
Dimensions: 210×135×20 mm
Series: Eternal Stories
