• In total there are 0 users online :: 0 registered, 0 hidden and 0 guests (based on users active over the past 60 minutes)
    Most users ever online was 789 on Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:08 am

The Diary of a Madman

#80: Mar. - April 2010 (Fiction)
User avatar
geo

2C - MOD & GOLD
pets endangered by possible book avalanche
Posts: 4779
Joined: Sun Aug 03, 2008 4:24 am
15
Location: NC
Has thanked: 2198 times
Been thanked: 2200 times
United States of America

Re: The Diary of a Madman

Unread post

etudiant wrote:I've found a Penguin version in a musty old book store for $4. Quite a deal.
And no shipping charges either!
-Geo
Question everything
User avatar
Suzanne

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
Book General
Posts: 2513
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:51 pm
14
Location: New Jersey
Has thanked: 518 times
Been thanked: 399 times

Re: The Diary of a Madman

Unread post

President Camacho wrote:Gave us Penguins an opportunity to post about the stories that aren't in the Signet. =)
Looking forward to it :)

Heck, I'll join the march myself! My only request is that these posts be made in the appropriate story threads.

The Signet version includes:
Diary of a Madman
The Nose
The Carriage
The Overcoat
Taras Bulba

Threads have been created for these stories.

The missing stories from the Signet version, which appear in the Penguin version includes:
Nevsky Prospekt
Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and his Aunt
How Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovitch

Threads for these stories have been created.

All story threads are in the "Diary of a Madman" fiction discussion forum.

geo wrote:I assume we are reading Diary of a Madman first?
Geo, we have discussed collections of short stories in the past. There really is no order to them. Readers jump in where ever they happen to be. It is typical that many readers are not on the same page. As a short story reader myself, I tend to jump around a bit when making my way through a collection. It may take some time for everyone to catch up to each other.

Again, I apologize for the confusion.
User avatar
Suzanne

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
Book General
Posts: 2513
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:51 pm
14
Location: New Jersey
Has thanked: 518 times
Been thanked: 399 times

Re: The Diary of a Madman

Unread post

geo wrote:Penguins? Cygnets? You have a bird avatar? I have a bird avatar? Something weird is going on here.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

You guys are priceless!
User avatar
President Camacho

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
I Should Be Bronzed
Posts: 1655
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:44 pm
15
Location: Hampton, Ga
Has thanked: 246 times
Been thanked: 314 times

Re: The Diary of a Madman

Unread post

Hahaha. That's the reason I put a 'don't feed the birds' avatar. I can't remember when but there was a time when several users on here all had bird avatars and it was driving me bananas.
User avatar
President Camacho

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
I Should Be Bronzed
Posts: 1655
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:44 pm
15
Location: Hampton, Ga
Has thanked: 246 times
Been thanked: 314 times

Re: The Diary of a Madman

Unread post

What are you reading now geo?
User avatar
President Camacho

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
I Should Be Bronzed
Posts: 1655
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:44 pm
15
Location: Hampton, Ga
Has thanked: 246 times
Been thanked: 314 times

Re: The Diary of a Madman

Unread post

This was probably the most amusing story in the Penguin edition. I'm not going to read the government inspector as I'm not a fan of reading plays. Besides I'm done with Gogol for now. Putting him up.

This story was just plain fun and very well written. Again, the main character has a certain ambition and winds up in a worse spot than where he was before the story began. At least in this story the main character actually THINKS he's in a better place. So that's a small consolation. All hail the King of Spain. hehe.
User avatar
Suzanne

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
Book General
Posts: 2513
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:51 pm
14
Location: New Jersey
Has thanked: 518 times
Been thanked: 399 times

Re: The Diary of a Madman

Unread post

Don't know what to make of this story. There certainly is a progression to this man's madness, he holds down a job, he lives in a home with a servant, but something happens. Maybe life happens.

The "dog" letters seem to be a catalyst in his spiral into madness, but I am stymied about what these letters mean. I'm thinking that they may have been actual conversations by people at one time, that the dogs were once people in the life of this madman, and he is remembering these people through dogs. I'm also thinking that one of the dogs represents him. Maybe I'm just thinking too much, and am not enjoying the story for the "mad" story it is.

I am reminded of the old sterotype of madmen believing they are Napoleon when he starts to think of himself as the King of Spain. It was hilarious when the madman mentions how quick the trip to Spain was. Actually, I did find myself laughing quite a bit, so Gogol has lived up to his reputation.
User avatar
etudiant
Masters
Posts: 467
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2009 3:33 pm
14
Location: canada
Has thanked: 64 times
Been thanked: 174 times

Re: The Diary of a Madman

Unread post

What amazes me when I read some of the old classics is the difference in the perception of time. They seemed to have more of it in the past; there was no rush. Today I find it difficult to imagine coming home from work, and spending the evening laying on a bed, as Gogol describes. My twenty-first century nervous system would be agonizing for a reading/ news/ video/ computer fix. When I read Moby Dick, I found myself exasperated at times, as Melville seemed in no hurry to go anywhere, and had innumerable sidetracks to his story. But I guess this is a reflection of the times these authors lived in. They were not rushed or eternally sidetracked by all kinds of external input, and so paced themselves, and had time to embellish and analyze at length.
"I suspect that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose"
— JBS Haldane
User avatar
caseyjo
The Great Gabsby
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 12:54 pm
14
Location: Chicago
Has thanked: 6 times
Been thanked: 19 times

Re: The Diary of a Madman

Unread post

One thing I found especially intriguing about this short story was the idea that things are what they appear to be. We see this in the beginning of the story, when the madman says "Our director must be a very intelligent man. His whole study is lined with books" (p. 4). The madman clearly takes everything at face value, and does not attempt to delve any further into the director's character. He does the same thing with women, which is interesting in and of itself. Perhaps Gogol's point is that basing things on appearances helps to keep the aristocracy running while simultaneously running the lower class citizens into madness.
User avatar
President Camacho

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
I Should Be Bronzed
Posts: 1655
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:44 pm
15
Location: Hampton, Ga
Has thanked: 246 times
Been thanked: 314 times

Re: The Diary of a Madman

Unread post

That's very interesting. I didn't think of it nor would I have thought of that. What an idea.
Post Reply

Return to “Diary of a Madman and Other Stories - by Nikolai Gogol”