Catherine Cowan

OMG, I find Gogol such a laborious writer. I could barely force myself through this story, and it is relatively short as Russian writing goes. I'm not sure why he is a trial for me...I read Dostoevsky with relish, loved [b:Doctor Zhivago|130440|Doctor Zhivago|Boris Pasternak|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385508725l/130440._SY75_.jpg|3288400], and Tolstoy goes in my favorite authors of all time list, so it is not his being Russian. His [b:Dead Souls|28381|Dead Souls|Nikolai Gogol|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387201057l/28381._SY75_.jpg|1001298] is one of only a handful of books I have ever DNF'd. I admit I am becoming less patient as I age; less time to waste, I suppose.

The story is absurd, and is meant to be. The nose takes on a life of its own. I'm convinced there are undertones in this story that would have been obviously satirical to his own people and time, and I think that is what fails here for me--it is a tale meant to be read contemporarily and it loses its edge out of its time.… (mehr)