Posts from Gogol and his works.

I was reading a very interesting book the other day – it’s called “Dead Souls.” And I was wondering how the forum feels about Gogol in general.

Fantasy elements?! In Dead Souls?!)))) Maybe you read a book with the same title, which tells how an army of zombies devoured everything?))) Where did you find fantasy there? In general, I read Dead Souls, and it's going quite well. Everything is quite clear and interesting. From the moderator: The author seems to have made a mistake. He went a bit off-topic, but I cleaned up the main post of the topic so as not to derail it.

Or maybe "Beloved of the Gods" is just the second volume?:D
To be honest, I don't like Gogol's books, because... I just don't like them.

Actually, there is a thread on the forum dedicated to books, but if we narrow it down to Gogol's books, I can say that I haven't read "Dead Souls."

I don't really feel that way either... Although... Recently, I only read "Dead Souls," and I didn't even finish it. As they say, I couldn't get through it. Yes, maybe I'm not well-educated, but I'm not drawn to classics; there are maybe 2-3 works from the 19th century that I would actually enjoy.

When I was little, I read "Viy." By the way, I liked it back then. However, I can't say for sure now whether it was some kind of children's abridged and simplified version, or the original work. Although, I think "Viy" isn't very long even in its original form.

Among the classics, I can only reread "The Master and Margarita," "The Twelve Chairs," and "The Golden Calf." But I have great respect for Gogol; he writes interestingly and beautifully. I read "Dead Souls" and even wrote an essay about it. Whirlwind +1, "Viy" is beautiful. I also like "The Terrible Revenge"... It's perfect for reading before bed; I recommend it to everyone. P.S. The topic has been cleaned up.

I love reading Gogol's books because I've always found that naive, old-fashioned style amusing.
"No, how could this happen? I suddenly show up without a nose! People will laugh at me! It's so embarrassing to show up without a nose! What a disgrace!", and so on :)
In the modern world, it's sometimes nice to feel... culture, I guess.

Gogol wrote some good works. "Viy" is particularly great.

Once, I read Taras Bulba. Later, we studied it in school.
And after graduating from university, I understood what this work is about.

I think that Gogol (besides his genius, original fate, etc.) is one of the brightest representatives of a mixed style, which I would define as "mystical-humorous." I would also include Hoffmann, Edgar Allan Poe, Bulgakov, and Orlov, among other outstanding writers.

And "Dead Souls" is a magnificent work. Don't judge me too harshly for the bold comparison, but it seems to me that "Dead Souls" in the twentieth century is like "Moscow-Petushki." And in both works, in addition to the excellent language, there are simply outstanding typologies and generalizations, combined with more than specific examples...

Basically, I grew up reading Gogol. I agree that he wrote on various topics and in different genres. In elementary school, I read "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka," and then "Taras Bulba." And "The Inspector General" and "Dead Souls" are still relevant today, which is widely acknowledged. In general, when I read his more serious books, I was surprised that it was the same Gogol, the author of those not-so-serious folklore "horror stories" like "Viy" and "Ivan Kupala's Day," etc.

From the classics, I only liked "The Master and Margarita"; I didn't really connect with the others... Well, "Taras Bulba" is also good, and so is Ostrovsky...