Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
In this satirical novel, a man travels through Russia buying up the titles to deceased serfs (or "souls") from their naive landowners, under the guise of a get-rich-quick scheme. However, his real plan is to use these "dead souls" to create a phantom estate and secure a massive loan. The story explores the corruption and greed prevalent in 19th-century Russian society and provides a unique perspective on the human condition.
The 130th greatest book of all time
- Published
- 1842
- Nationality
- Russian
- Type
- Fiction
- Pages
- 300-550
- Words
- 84,000
- Original Language
- Russian
If you're interested in seeing the ranking details on this book go here
This book is on the following lists:
- 3rd on The Main Works of Russian literature (Polka Academy)
- 25th on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
- 68th on The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time (The Top 10 (Book))
- 74th on Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books (Harvard Book Store)
- 98th on Pour une Bibliothèque Idéale (Raymond Queneau)
- 217th on The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users (Culture Café)
- 470th on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- Finest Works of Fiction (Martin Seymour-Smith and Editors)
- The Bigger Read List (English PEN)
- Masterpieces of World Literature (Frank N. Magill)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition (New York Times)
- The New Lifetime Reading Plan (The New Lifetime Reading Plan)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher (Die Zeit)
- William H. F. Lamont’s 100 Best Novels (1947) (archive.org)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- Top 100 Works in World Literature (Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute)