Nikolai Gogol

I never liked Nabokov, thought he was pompous and hyper-erudite. In this book he seems to have something to say!If you love Gogol, read this book. You will weep.If you love Nabokov, this book will make you love Gogol. And that is the proper thing to do, believe me.It has Nabokov's failings... at times the reader will wonder if Nabokov is going to stop describing the place he is writing from and get back to Gogol! But that's what you pay for with Nabokov, it has very amusing moments about it. It also sets out to wax humorously on Russian culture at length: but this is actually very useful for lovers of Russian literature who are not Russian. Truly great.Nabokov makes some questionable statements about who should like Gogol's work, some very elitist statements. But do not worry. Gogol is definitely for everybody. Read this book if you have enjoyed Gogol's work. But it would help to read most of Gogol first, and love it thoroughly if you want to be moved by this book and find a kindred spirit in its author Vladimir Nabokov.

Gaw-gol: you cannot grasp the genius of Gogol without knowing Russian. So for English speakers, Nabokov helps us at least to begin that understanding.

Detailing of a very rare butterfly indeed. Of a species extinct no doubt.

As fascinating a review of an author's work as I've ever read. It's been a very long time since I read Gogol in translation and now I want more than anything to return to him, if and when possible, in the original.

The biographical parts read like a novel wherein Gogol is transformed into a Nabokovian character.The critical parts delve into Nabokov's aesthetic ideas more fully than anywhere else in his oevre.Vital for Nabokovians and would stand as a great, charming, idiosyncratic book even if Nabokov had never written another.

I think that Gogol was a unique, and very special, author, who produced some of the most amazing works of literature that I have ever read. This book about Gogol left me slightly in two minds, but I found it interesting in parts.I was expecting it to be a biography, but it is not really that. It does, however, contain a lot of biographical information, and a later section of the book is informative about the last ten years of his life, following the completion of 'Dead Souls Part 1'. I found that section very interesting, especially the background to why the work was never completed.The majority of the book consists of a series of commentaries on some, but not all, of his works. Mainly, it deals with 'Dead Souls', 'The Government Inspector' (Play), and the short story, 'The Overcoat'. The book is quite short, about 140 pages, and much of these commentaries is taken up by actual extracts from the works in question, particularly 'Dead Souls'. Personally, I thought these extracts were somewhat overdone, and that it would be better just to re-read the books. There is also an element of 'spoiler alert required' because these sections do reveal plots to differing extents.Nabokov makes the point that some of Gogol's earlier works are not too great. Personally, I think that some of his other short stories, especially the later ones, are of the high quality found in 'The Overcoat'. Stories like 'Diary of a Madman', 'The Quarrel' and 'The Nose' (possibly the maddest story in literature!) also demonstrate his amazing intuition, his artistry, and his zany sense of humour, which was at least 150 years ahead of his time. He always seems so modern, and so easy to read.

Nabakov speaks of Gogol's brilliance and tries to understand the despair that engulfed him and led to his death.

An odd mixture of biography and literary criticism. Nabokov praises Gogol while trashing most translators and critics.He sees Gogol's unique genius as having nothing to do with social critique and everything to do with seeing the depth of the human soul.

in Gogol's time, the authoritarian Tsarist Russian culture, ironically, responded with great appreciation for his hilarious satire of their corrupt bureaucracy, in such works as "The Inspector General". However, with great wit and insight, Vladimir Nabokov reveals how this regrettably short-lived young man was sadly too neurotic to appreciate his accomplishments.

¿Cómo puede alguien pretender aproximarse a Gogol, ignorando lo que otro gran genio ha dicho sobre él? Porque, no cabe duda, la lengua puede ser un obstáculo insalvable, sobre todo cuando leemos comedia. Por eso, Nabokov, genio y bilingüe, es una referencia imprescindible.Por favor, traduzcan este texto al español.

yes

正直、ここまで面白い伝記を読んだことはありません。だって、死去の場面からはじまり、誕生のエピソードで終わる伝記なんて他にありますか？いかにもナボコフらしい、トリッキーな仕掛けが施されています。（編集者も難を示したらしく、その顚末を書いたあとがきも実に楽しい）しかもしかも、本書はゴーゴリの伝記でありながらゴーゴリの作品分析にもなっています。（というか分量的には作品分析が本書の多くを占めていて、一部は『ロシア文学講義』と重複）『外套』『検察官』『死せる魂』といったゴーゴリの代表作が愛情と皮肉のこもった鋭いメスで華麗に解剖されていきます。とくに印象に残った言葉は、（すべてうろ覚えで正確な引用ではないですが）「ゴーゴリにおいてはコミック（comic）とコスミック（cosmic)とは、歯擦音ひとつの違いにすぎない」とかですね。つまり、ゴーゴリの魔術的文体にかかれば、喜劇的な描写がいつのまにやら宇宙的壮大さをもった幻想に昇華するということを、ナボコフは褒め称えているというわけです。じつにうまい表現です。あとは、『外套』で出てくる追いはぎ幽霊の正体がナボコフ流に謎解きされているんですが、これは必読です。ネタバレになるので書きませんが、ちょっとナボコフの説を読んでしまうと『外套』はもう他の読み方はなかなかできなくなってしまいますね。というわけで、この本は超オススメです。なお青山太郎氏の訳も、ナボコフの衒学的かつ理知的な書き方にマッチしていて素晴らしい！の一言に尽きます。

What to say about this book...I really love the writings of both Gogol and Nabokov but I find Nabokov's arrogance annoying. He makes some very valid points about how Gogol should be seen as an artist creating his own world and not as a social reformer, but his (Nabokov's) attitude grates on my nerves.This is a very good biography of a very important writer and I can easily recommend it. Nabokov hits the correct nail on the head when he blames religious fervor for the decline and ultimate demise of Gogol's imagination and literary skills. And, yes, Nabokov is right in stating that many readers just dip their toes in the Sea of Gogol rather than diving for the treasures and mysteries hidden down deep. If only he hadn't been so arrogant I could have given this book five stars. Still, a great read and typically Nabokov ;-)