Nikolai Vasil'evich Gogol

A story of a clerk whose new overcoat changes his destiny.

The Overcoat

Nikolai Gogol

This early work by Nikolai Gogol was originally published in 1835 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Overcoat' is a short story about a government clerk who has his precious new overcoat stolen. No-one seems willing to help him retrieve his prized possession, a fact that continues to concern him even when he is beyond the grave. Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was born in Sorochintsi, Ukraine in 1809. In 1831, Gogol brought out the first volume of his Ukrainian stories, 'Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'. It met with immediate success, and he followed it a year later with a second volume. 'The Nose' is regarded as a masterwork of comic short fiction, and 'The Overcoat' is now seen as one of the greatest short stories ever written; some years later, Dostoyevsky famously stated "We all come out from Gogol's 'Overcoat'." He is seen by many contemporary critics as one of the greatest short story writers who has ever lived, and theFather of Russia's Golden Age of Realism."

how is this socio-economic satire both comedic yet tragic at the same time! I don't know if I should cry or laugh. 

diya

a 4.75 /5 

how is this socio-economic satire both comedic yet tragic at the same time! I don't know if I should cry or laugh. 

Akaki Akakievich, a solitary, unworldly government clerk, is often mocked by his colleagues - not least on account of his pathetically threadbare overcoat, no longer a match for the St Petersburg climate. Economising to the point of austerity, Akaki has a new overcoat made, thus transforming his life. Then, one dark night, the unthinkable happens ... By turns wry, sad, tender and satirical, Gogol's greatest short work provided the template for an entirely new way of storytelling in the modern age.

Well technically a first time read of a previously consumed audiobook. Layered themes centered around social standing, hierarchy and materialism  wrapped in a perfectly simple and engaging tale of a man and his overcoat. This is an easy 5-star read, one of my favourite pieces of literature ever and a benchmark for short works of fiction. 

Nicholas Laurie

Re-read

Well technically a first time read of a previously consumed audiobook. Layered themes centered around social standing, hierarchy and materialism  wrapped in a perfectly simple and engaging tale of a man and his overcoat. This is an easy 5-star read, one of my favourite pieces of literature ever and a benchmark for short works of fiction. 

The Overcoat is a short story by author Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story and its author have had great influence on Russian literature, thus spawning Fyodor Dostoyevsky's famous quote: "We all come out from Gogol's 'Overcoat'." The story has been adapted into a variety of stage and film interpretations The story centers on the life and death of Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, an impoverished government clerk and copyist in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg. Akaky is dedicated to his job as a titular councillor, taking special relish in the hand-copying of documents, though little recognized in his department for his hard work. Instead, the younger clerks tease him and attempt to distract him whenever they can. His threadbare overcoat is often the butt of their jokes. Akaky decides it is necessary to have the coat repaired, so he takes it to his tailor, Petrovich, who declares the coat irreparable, telling Akaky he must buy a new overcoat...

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Trish

This was my first venture into Nikolai Gogol's works and I was immensely impressed. I used to think that Russian literature just wasn't my cup of tea, but I may have to reconsider. Maybe I was too young to fully grasp the tough philosophical and ideological issues Russian authors tend to tackle in their short and long fiction, but after reading and thoroughly enjoying The Overcoat, I'm ready to give the Russians another try. This story, in particular, is a true testament to the power of characterization.

Ilse

I absolutely adored The Overcoat. Akaky was such a tragic character and I just love how Nikolai Gogol wrote him. Gogol’s descriptions of the setting were really atmospheric and I really liked the little spin at the end. Definitely a big recommendation for anyone who wants to start reading Russian literature!

It is not necessary to say much about this tailor; but, as it is the custom to have the character of each personage in a novel clearly defined, there is no help for it, so here is Petrovitch the tailor. At first he was called only Grigoriy, and was some gentleman's serf; he commenced calling himself Petrovitch from the time when he received his free papers, and further began to drink heavily on all holidays, at first on the great ones, and then on all church festivities without discrimination, wherever a cross stood in the calendar.

noha

Neglected, scorned, laughed at .... His life was awful, it's a tragic. And then on top of that when he finally feels a bit happy, BAM he's robbed! Then BAM he dies!!

Frankly speaking, I didn't like the ending. I wasn't expecting something supernatural. 

I'm somewhat confused. I don't know if i like the story or not. Now I'm just gonna be sad the whole day ;-;

aahir

Kathrin Schuster

Emilie 

Five tragicomic tales from the visionary writer heralded by Vladimir Nabokov as “the greatest artist that Russia has yet produced” A midlevel bureaucrat in the czar’s administration, Poprishchin is hurrying to work when he sees a woman step out of a carriage. Her beauty astounds him, and as she passes by, he hears something impossible: Her dog opens its mouth, and begins to speak. It is Poprishchin’s first step on the road to insanity, a journey that will take him into the depths of hell—and raise him up to the heights of emperors and kings. “Memoirs of a Madman” is one of Nikolai Gogol’s definitive short works, a satire of the excesses of czarist bureaucracy told with wit, empathy, and his signature blend of the real and surreal. Other highlights in this indispensable volume include the haunting title story and “The Nose,” an absurdist masterpiece. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

The Overcoat

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