A review by specificwonderland
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

challenging funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

I went thru a phase where I was reading very depressing Russian books. Things like Cancer Ward, Day in the life of Ivan Ivanovich, the Gulag Archipelago and for some reason, I thought Gogol had written one of these books. As I look back at my reading history and his oeuvre, I see the night before Christmas, which I gave 3 stars. So I don't know why I thought I would like this more, but this was a little meandering and exhaustive. The dialogues are carefully dictated but ultimately rambling. I had a hard time understanding the point. I can see the theme of the hypocrisy of the government with its stupid red tape and bureaucracy, and the boring downstream effects of class when you're not disgustingly rich. I highlighted some funny turns of phrase but I think this would've looked a lot different if it was published rather than published as a WIP.