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    The Nose
    The Nose
    The Nose
    Ebook38 pages36 minutes

    The Nose

    By Nikolai Gogol

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    This early work by Nikolai Gogol was originally published in 1835 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Nose' is a short story about a St. Petersburg official whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was born in Sorochintsi, Ukraine in 1809. In 1831, Gogol brought out the first volume of his Ukrainian stories, 'Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'. It met with immediate success, and he followed it a year later with a second volume. 'The Nose' is regarded as a masterwork of comic short fiction, and 'The Overcoat' is now seen as one of the greatest short stories ever written; some years later, Dostoyevsky famously stated "We all come out from Gogol's 'Overcoat'." He is seen by many contemporary critics as one of the greatest short story writers who has ever lived, and the Father of Russia's Golden Age of Realism.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateDec 12, 2014
    ISBN9781473397125
    Author

    Nikolai Gogol

    Nikolai Gogol was a Russian novelist and playwright born in what is now considered part of the modern Ukraine. By the time he was 15, Gogol worked as an amateur writer for both Russian and Ukrainian scripts, and then turned his attention and talent to prose. His short-story collections were immediately successful and his first novel, The Government Inspector, was well-received. Gogol went on to publish numerous acclaimed works, including Dead Souls, The Portrait, Marriage, and a revision of Taras Bulba. He died in 1852 while working on the second part of Dead Souls.

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    Reviews for The Nose

    3.5/5

    13 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      What a strange little story The Nose by Nikolai Gogol turned out to be. This is a satirical short story about a St. Petersburg official called Kovalyov, whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. Apparently Gogol himself had an oddly shaped nose and was often teased about this. The sheer absurdity of this story relies on humor and social commentary to draw the reader in.Highlighting the desire for social ranking, in this story, the Nose actually surpasses the position of the owner causing him much embarrassment and although the nose apparently can change in size, it is always clearly identified as belonging to Kovalyov which spearheads that characters feelings of inferiority and jealousy. It is never explained fully how the nose made it’s escape or how it came to be re-attached but instead leaves that up to the imagination of the reader. Using this type of magical realism highlights the surreal nature of the story but the author definitely included plenty of social references about Russia and human nature in general. Personally I found The Nose to be both hilarious and insightful.
    • 3/5
      A short story of 45 pages. It is absurd and it is supposed to be. It's a commentary on how people say and do very silly things. Meh
    • 3/5
      De barbier iwan Jakowlewitsj ontdekt bij zijn ontbijt een neus in het brood, afkomstig van de college-assessor Kowaljow. Die ziet pas bij het ontwaken dat zijn neus weg is en is in alle staten (want erg ijdel). Plots ziet hij zijn eigen neus in de straat opduiken, gekleed in uniform, hij spreekt hem aan maar de ander ontkent. K. probeert een advertentie te plaatsen, maar dat stuit op ongeloof en hilariteit bij ambtenaren en functionarissen. Uiteindelijk komt een politie-inspecteur hem de neus terugbrengen, maar hij krijgt hem er niet meer op. Allerlei geruchten en toeloop. 14d dagen later zit de neus weer op zijn plaats. Een vreemd verhaal!
    • 3/5
      Nikolai Gogol's short story "The Nose" is a pretty quick and amusing read. There doesn't appear to be anything too deep about it (which may be the point as compared to most Russian literature.) I'm not a fan of magical realism generally, but when they're this short, I guess it's all right.
    • 5/5
      A delightful short story about a man that wakes and finds out his nose has gone and it is walking in town disguised as a State Counselor!...
    • 3/5
      Amusing short story, with moments of true hilarity. I was surprised that Gogol had such a sense of humor. On the other hand, the story lacks any real depth and Gogol makes no attempt whatsoever to explain the absurd happenings.A recommended read, but do not expect to take away anything of significance.
    • 3/5
      A short story of 45 pages. It is absurd and it is supposed to be. It's a commentary on how people say and do very silly things. Meh

    Book preview

    The Nose - Nikolai Gogol

    The%20Nose_FC.jpg

    The Nose

    by

    Nikolai GogoL

    Copyright © 2013 Read Books Ltd.

    This book is copyright and may not be

    reproduced or copied in any way without

    the express permission of the publisher in writing

    British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

    A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

    Nikolai Gogol

    Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was born in Sorochintsi, Ukraine in 1809. He attended the Poltava boarding school, and then the Nehzin high school, where he wrote for the school’s literary journal and acted in theatrical productions. In 1828, after leaving school, Gogol moved to St. Petersburg with the ambition of becoming a professional author. At his own expense, he published a long Romantic poem. It was universally derided, and Gogol bought and destroyed all the copies, swearing never to write poetry again.

    In 1831, Gogol brought out the first volume of his Ukrainian stories, Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka. It met with immediate success, and he followed it a year later with a second volume. Around this time, Gogol met the great Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin, with whom he developed a close friendship. Over the next decade or so, he worked with great industry, producing a great amount of short stories. Of these, ‘The Nose’ is regarded as a masterwork of comic short fiction, and ‘The Overcoat’ is now seen as one of the greatest short stories ever written; some years later, Dostoyevsky famously stated We all come out from Gogol’s ‘Overcoat’. He also published Dead Souls (1842), a satirisation of serfdom, seen by many critics as the first ‘modern’ Russian novel and his greatest longer work.

    Gogol spent time living abroad in later life, settling in Rome and developing a passion for opera. As he got older, criticism of his work began to drain him, and he turned to religion, making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1848. Upon his return to Russia, under the encouragement of the fanatical priest, Father Konstantinovskii, Gogol subjected himself to a fatal course of fasting. He died in Moscow in 1852, aged 42. He is seen by many contemporary critics as one of the greatest short story writers who has ever lived, and the Father of Russia’s Golden Age of Realism.

    I

    On the 25th March, 18—, a very strange occurrence took place in St Petersburg. On the Ascension Avenue there lived a barber of the name of Ivan Jakovlevitch. He had lost his family name, and on his sign-board, on which was depicted the head of a gentleman with one cheek soaped, the only inscription to be read was, Blood-letting done here.

    On this particular morning he awoke pretty early. Becoming aware of the smell of fresh-baked bread, he sat up a little in bed, and

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