Dead Serfs (selected Translations of Masterpieces)
About This Novel
Gogol (1809-1852), an outstanding representative and founder of Russian critical realist literature in the 19th century, is known as the "Father of Russian Prose". "Dead Serfs" is his masterpiece. "Dead Serf" is also translated as "Dead Soul". Dead serfs were actually empty serfs who had died but had not yet been written off the tax rolls. The novel describes Chichikov, a businessman who specializes in fraud, who came to a remote provincial city and became the guest of the local bureaucrats with his extravagant flattery. He also went to buy dead serfs from the landlords in an attempt to use them as collateral to buy and sell short and make huge profits. After the scandal was exposed, he fled. The novel deeply depicts the ignorance, greed, despicability, and vulgarity of bureaucrats and landlords. Its immortal characterization and pungent satire can be regarded as a classic in the history of Russian literature.
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