Dead Souls (unabridged)
Label: NA Catalog: NA0269 Format: COMPACT DISC Boulton, NicholasGogol's great Russian classic is the Pickwick Papers of Russian Literature. It takes a sharp but humorous look at life in all its strata, but especially the devious complexities in Russia with its landowners and serfs. We are introduced to Chichikov, a businessman who, in order to trick the tax authorities, buys up dead ''souls'' or serfs whose names still appear on the government census. Despite being a dealer in phantom crimes and paper ghosts, he is the most beguiling of Gogol's characters. Gogol's obsession with attempting to display ''the untold riches of the Russian soul'' eventually led him to madness, religious mania and death. Dismissed by him as merely ''a pale introduction to the great epic poem which is taking shape in my mind'', Dead Souls is the culmination of Gogol's genius. Nicholas Boulton's remarkable fluency and beauty of tone defy the listener to take a break from this unique tale. Nikolai Gogol was considered a leading figure in Russian literary realism and was hailed by Vladimir Nabokov to be the greatest writer Russia ever produced. Price: $97.98 |