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Virtual Macedonia Bookstore - The Overcoat and Other Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions)
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List Price: $3.50
Our Price: $0.94
Your Save: $ 2.56 ( 73% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 891.733
EAN: 9780486270579
ISBN: 0486270572
Label: Dover Publications
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 112
Publication Date: 1992-02-21
Publisher: Dover Publications
Studio: Dover Publications
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: ahead of its time
Comment: Gogol, who lived from 1809-1852, was decades if not a whole century ahead of his time. His clever, sardonic, cynical stories satirize the world of self-important bureaucrats in ways that still seem eerily relevant.
In "The Overcoat," a humble clerk who spends his days copying documents, is shaken out of his routine when he suddenly acquires a splendid new coat. Suddenly, all his repressed desires come to the surface. I won't reveal the end of the story except to say that it is both funny and sad.
In "The Nose" Gogol reveals himself as an unequalled satirist with a weird, surrealistic imagination -- and this was way before the invention of surrealism. Again, he's able to put himself inside the heads of government busybodies and low-level officials with uncanny realism.
Great, though-provoking reading.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Classical Russian Literature at its finest!
Comment: Gogol has been a long favorite of mine and when I saw these short stories I jumped to buy them. If you are an avid fan like I am then do not hesitate! :)
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great read
Comment: I had heard that I should read Gogol from a friend, but this friend has a Master's in English Lit so I thought it might be a little over my head. To my happy surprise I loved all of the short stories. Gogol is really good at creating interesting, complex characters within a few pages, and his understanding of human nature really shines through. I also thought that I would be put off by some of the unreal elements in the stories, as i tend not to like magical realism or fantastical stories, but with Gogol I did not mind. It is kind of like hearing a bed time story or a fable. Most importantly, his stories are entertaining. For those of you who are looking to diversify your reading, I would really recommend this book.
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Summary: The Overcoat of Russia's Past Is Today's BMW
Comment: I agree with those fans of this story who proclaim it to be the greatest short story ever. First, "The Overcoat," at 35 pages or so, has more thematic density than most novels. Second, it's funny. Third, it takes unpredictable twists and turns that suggest a madman or a genius at work. The premise is that a poor nebbish office worker saves all his money to buy a stylish overcoat, which affords him increased social status and personal self-esteem and as such the overcoat is like someone buying a BMW to impress everyone. Of course, pursuing a self-image through materialism is a chimera and will result in a Faustian Bargain. Indeed, the Devil appears in this story and indeed there is disenchantment in a story that is prescient in its ability to capture the advertising age and the promises of rabid consumerism as a false form of self-transcendence. Then there's the story's mysterious ending, which no critic can agree upon. Is the ending a ghost story, a metaphor, something else entirely? I would couple this "chimera" story with F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece"Winter Dreams," which is a microcosm of his novel The Great Gatsby, also about a man who, like the antihero in "The Overcoat," relies on image more than substance.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Overlooked classics
Comment: While Dostoevsky said, "We have all come from under 'The Overcoat'," western literature, especially because of the Cold War sentiment has put Gogol and his fantastic tales hidden under an overcoat. It is a shame that Gogol, especially "The Overcoat" and "The Nose," has been hidden or underpresented (nice word, eh?) for so long, especially since he seems to be Poe with a deep social commentary. Or maybe Poe is Gogol with a lyric bent for the macabre.The Overcoat is a beautifully told story that will not allow you to look at people the same way, especially those who might be ostracized. While Akaky is a figure from 19th century Russia, he is very much a character that can be found in the 21st century. Moreover, when Gogol tells about the druken tailor with his witchy wife and the smell of onions, the reader at once pictures the dreadful wench and the overpowering smell of fried onions. And when the commissioner berates Akaky, it is hard not to almost faint in fear, or be outraged. Gogol is a master of stirring the human emotions and mixing them with vivid descriptions making for stories that a reader cannot forget. The Nose is a very funny story, much of which gets lost in translation and in time. But the idea of a vain official losing his nose only to have it turn up as a mid-level bureaucrat is still relevant in this world of middle management. What a tremendous story tale of human vanity and what a surreal tale that seemed to spawn the likes of Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog," and "Master and Margarita."
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Editorial Reviews:
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Four works by great 19th-century Russian author: "The Nose," a savage satire of Russia's incompetent bureaucrats; "Old-Fashioned Farmers," a pleasant depiction of an elderly couple living in rustic seclusion; "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovich," one of Gogol’s most famous comic stories; and "The Overcoat," widely considered a masterpiece of form.
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