Books with author Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol

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"The Nose" is a satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol written during his time living in St. Petersburg. During this time, Gogol's works were primarily focused on surrealism and the grotesque, with a romantic twist. Written between 1835 and 1836, "The Nose" tells the story of a St. Petersburg official whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. "The Nose" was originally published in The Contemporary, a literary journal owned by Alexander Pushkin. The use of a nose as the main source of conflict in the story could have been due to Gogol's own experience with an oddly shaped nose, which was often the subject of self-deprecating jokes in letters. The use of iconic landmarks in the story, as well as the sheer absurdity of the story, has made "The Nose" an important part of St. Petersburg's literary tradition. "The Nose" is divided into three parts and tells the story of a Collegiate Assessor who wakes up without his nose. He later finds out that his nose has developed a life of its own, and has even surpassed the Collegiate Assessor in social rank. The short story showcases the obsession with social rank that plagued Russia after Peter the Great introduced the table of ranks. By allowing commoners to gain hereditary nobility through service to the state, a huge population was given the chance to move up in social status. This opportunity, however, also gave way to large bureaucracies, in which many of Gogol's characters worked.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (31 March 1809 – 4 March 1852) was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist, novelist and short story writer. Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism and the grotesque ("The Nose", "Viy", "The Overcoat," "Nevsky Prospekt"). His early works, such as Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, were influenced by his Ukrainian upbringing, Ukrainian culture and folklore. His later writing satirised political corruption in the Russian Empire (The Government Inspector, Dead Souls), leading to his eventual exile. The novel Taras Bulba (1835) and the play Marriage (1842), along with the short stories "Diary of a Madman", "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich", "The Portrait" and "The Carriage", round out the tally of his best-known works. In 1831, he brought out the first volume of his Ukrainian stories (Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka), which met with immediate success. He followed it in 1832 with a second volume, and in 1835 by two volumes of stories entitled Mirgorod, as well as by two volumes of miscellaneous prose entitled Arabesques. At this time Russian editors and critics such as Nikolai Polevoy and Nikolai Nadezhdin saw in Gogol the emergence of a Ukrainian, rather than Russian, writer, using his works to illustrate supposed differences between Russian and Ukrainian national characters, a fact that has been overlooked in later Russian literary history. The themes and style of these early prose works by Gogol, as well as his later drama, were similar to the work of Ukrainian writers and dramatists who were his contemporaries and friends, including Hryhory Kvitka-Osnovyanenko and Vasily Narezhny. However, Gogol's satire was much more sophisticated and unconventional. At this time, Gogol developed a passion for Ukrainian history and tried to obtain an appointment to the history department at Kiev University. Despite the support of Pushkin and Sergey Uvarov, the Russian minister of education, his appointment was blocked by a Kievan bureaucrat on the grounds that he was unqualified. His fictional story Taras Bulba, based on the history of Ukrainian cossacks, was the result of this phase in his interests. During this time he also developed a close and lifelong friendship with another Ukrainian, the historian and naturalist Mykhaylo Maksymovych.

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About The Nose by Nikolai Gogol 'The Nose' is considered one of Nikolai Gogol's most famous works, a bizarre story about a man's 'nose' that embodies the wizardry of his work. The Nose is universally hailed as one of Gogol’s classics. The Nose is a satirical story by Nikolai Gogol. Written between 1835 and 1836, it tells of a St. Petersburg official whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. After disappearing from the Deputy Inspector's face, his nose shows up around town before returning to its proper place. Barber Ivan Yakovlevich finds a nose in his bread during breakfast. With horror he recognizes this nose as that of one of his regular customers, collegiate assessor Kovalyov. He tries to get rid of it by throwing it in the Neva River, but he is caught by a police officer. Dmitri Shostakovich's opera 'The Nose' first performed in 1930, is based on this story. A film based on this story was made by Alexandre Alexeieff and Claire Parker in 1963 and used pinscreen animation.

This Elibron Classics book is a reprint of a 1886 edition by Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New York. The title character of this short novel is a Cossack who, along with his two sons, joins his people's war with Poland. Set in the 17th century, the novel depicts the grim fates of the three Bulbas after one of the sons, Andri, deserts the Cossack forces to be with a Polish woman. The novel is particularly noted for its descriptions of the landscape of Gogol's native Ukraine.

from a review I read this book in my youth and loved it then. Revisiting it hasn't diminished the richness of its style or the quality of its impact. I love it still. Taras Bulba captures the wildness of spirit of the Cossacks and their role in the early Russia. It shows the magnificence of the qualities of love, loyalty and bravery. It also shows the opposite side of the human psyche mainly cruelty and despair in the face of overwhelming force. There are always two values in Russian literature and music a high booming note and a low resonating note. This triumph of Gogol exhibits both in true Russian style. In a way this illuminates the components of Russian character. It is by no means easy critiquing a work by the great Gogol but to advise readers to sample this great work I feel is a duty and a privilege. By all means read this book, it goes to the heart of the Cossack and Russian soul. It will answer the basic question about the Russian people's love of motherland which has echoed throughout Russian history.

"The Nose" is a satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol written during his time living in St. Petersburg. During this time, Gogol's works were primarily focused on surrealism and the grotesque, with a romantic twist. Written between 1835 and 1836, "The Nose" tells the story of a St. Petersburg official whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. "The Nose" was originally published in The Contemporary, a literary journal owned by Alexander Pushkin. The use of a nose as the main source of conflict in the story could have been due to Gogol's own experience with an oddly shaped nose, which was often the subject of self-deprecating jokes in letters. The use of iconic landmarks in the story, as well as the sheer absurdity of the story, has made "The Nose" an important part of St. Petersburg's literary tradition.