Dead Souls

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol, translated by Richard Pevear

Dead Souls pokes fun of Russian culture and bureaucracy. The protagonist goes about the country attempting to purchase "dead souls" from landowners. These are people that have died, yet are still on the tax roles. He believes that owing a great number can help him to get loans and be rich. He also has a scheme to create a fake will to inherit the lands of a rich lady. Alas, that scheme falls apart because he forgot to cancel previous wills. This second part is a bit fragmentary, with sections missing and the end cutting off in mid-sentence. The tone is much less serious than other historic Russian novels.

Dead Souls

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol, translated by D. J. Hogarth

This seems to be an exploration of wealth and money in mid 19th century Russia. People talk about control of others and buying land and peasants. There are other aspects of Russian life in place. The novel ends somewhat abruptly in mid-sentence, but does seem to ahve things fairly wrapped up. It did seem to go on a bit too long for the length of content.