Dead Souls

[Мёртвые души]
Year: 
1842
Type: 
Public: 
Moral assessment: 
Type: Literature
Nothing inappropriate.
Some morally inappropriate content.
Contains significant sections contrary to faith or morals.
Contains some lurid passages, or presents a general ideological framework that could confuse those without much Christian formation.
Contains several lurid passages, or presents an ideological framework that is contrary or foreign to Christian values.
Explicitly contradicts Catholic faith or morals, or is directed against the Church and its institutions.

Chichikov buys 400 servants, or "dead souls" at a low price in order to fake his possession but after a while the sellers become suspicious. From this point, Gogol tells the life of Chichikov who tried to thrive through deception. With this book — considered a masterpiece — Gogol makes a devastating criticism of the people and customs of Russia in the nineteenth century (disillusionment, greed, corruption, lies, laziness, hoax ...) while showing nostalgia for their land. The work is polyhedral and it's also full of sarcasm.

Author: Jorge Gaspar, Portugal
Update on: Feb 2019