Dead Souls
About this audiobook
Regarded as the first great masterpiece of Russian literature, Dead Souls mixes realism and symbolism for a vivid and highly original portrait of Russian life.
Chichikov, a mysterious stranger, arrives in a provincial town with a bizarre but seductive proposition for local landowners. He proposes to buy the names of their serfs who have died but who are still registered on the census, thereby saving their owners from paying taxes on them. But what collateral will Chichikov receive for these "souls"? What dubious scheme lies behind his actions?
Full of larger-than-life Dickensian characters—rogues and scoundrels, landowners and serfs, conniving petty officials, and the wily antihero Chichikov—Dead Souls is a devastating comic satire on social hypocrisy.
Discover more
Ratings and reviews
About the author
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (1809–1852) was a Ukrainian-born Russian writer often called the “father of modern Russian realism” because he was one of the first Russian writers to criticize his country’s way of life. The novels Taras Bul’ba and Dead Souls (1842), the play The Inspector-General (1836, 1842), and the short stories “Diary of a Madman,” “The Nose,” and “The Overcoat” (1842) are among his best-known works. With their scrupulous and scathing realism, ethical criticism, as well as philosophical depth, they remain some of the most important works of world literature.
Tom Weiner, a dialogue director and voice artist best known for his roles in video games and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Transformers, is the winner of eight Earphones Awards and is an Audie Award finalist. He is a former member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
