Collected Tales of Gogol
The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol
translated by Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky
435 pages - Vintage Classics
The title of this collection is slightly misleading, as this is not a _complete_ collection of Gogol's stories, though most of them are collected here. The stories are split into two sections, 'Ukrainian Tales', which are Gogol's earlier stories that take place in the Ukraine, and feel a lot like folktales, and 'Petersburg Tales', which are the slightly more sophisticated stories that mostly take place in St. Petersburg, where magic is somewhat replaced by surrealism, and among which are his most famous stories.
These stories hit you right away with their manic energy and aliveness, and they're really a wonder to read. I think I actually prefer the earlier, rawer stories, where things rush on and on and the story quickly jumps from one place to another, with events like a witch putting the moon in her pocket or three men fitting into a sack which another man then carries on his back, and the stories themselves breaking off at odd times, or leaving the main characters forever halfway thorough, and jumping to other events. Gogol was a bit more restrained when he wrote his Petersburg Tales, including the famous stories 'The Diary of a Madman', 'The Nose', and 'The Overcoat', but they're still fascinating and hilarious as well.
I just love the energy and aliveness in these stories. Really amazing, wonderful, delightful, entertaining stuff.
translated by Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky
435 pages - Vintage Classics
The title of this collection is slightly misleading, as this is not a _complete_ collection of Gogol's stories, though most of them are collected here. The stories are split into two sections, 'Ukrainian Tales', which are Gogol's earlier stories that take place in the Ukraine, and feel a lot like folktales, and 'Petersburg Tales', which are the slightly more sophisticated stories that mostly take place in St. Petersburg, where magic is somewhat replaced by surrealism, and among which are his most famous stories.
These stories hit you right away with their manic energy and aliveness, and they're really a wonder to read. I think I actually prefer the earlier, rawer stories, where things rush on and on and the story quickly jumps from one place to another, with events like a witch putting the moon in her pocket or three men fitting into a sack which another man then carries on his back, and the stories themselves breaking off at odd times, or leaving the main characters forever halfway thorough, and jumping to other events. Gogol was a bit more restrained when he wrote his Petersburg Tales, including the famous stories 'The Diary of a Madman', 'The Nose', and 'The Overcoat', but they're still fascinating and hilarious as well.
I just love the energy and aliveness in these stories. Really amazing, wonderful, delightful, entertaining stuff.