BookTalk.org

Diary of a Madman and Other Stories - by Nikolai Gogol

How Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovitch

I have the penguin version and I guess this is the story which follows the Shponka story. I'm a ways through it and I can't be happier. After the last novel I read, Toilers of the Sea, this is a welcome change!!!

The writing style is very light and humorous. It's candid and has a lot of slap stick style, low brow funniness and shenanigans.

To trade a pig for a rifle. hehe. To offer two sacks - full of oats that is, not empty..lol.

Gogol has a way of describing people too that other authors can't compete with. He can describe someone to a tee but in the funniest ways. Giving you an accurate description and making you smile - it's a ripping at the expense of the character he's describing. I remember this from Dead Souls. I can't remember which character he described in that book - it was a female and it was hilarious. He ripped on her but by doing so gave a more accurate description than a picture.

If you saw her you'd probably remark she wasn't very attractive but by reading his lines you would laugh and say, "That's true! Haha!" Mean, yes, but funny like when a comedian picks a person to rip on while you laugh at a safe distance having no chance of being the next victim.