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The Overcoat and Other Russian Tales
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
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The Overcoat and Other Russian Tales
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Summary
In this original compilation from Skyboat Media and Blackstone Publishing, Nikolai Gogol’s stories range from the whimsical and bizarre to the incisive and satiric, from the horrific and terrifying to the nonsensical and hilarious.
A lowly government clerk, Akay Akakiyevich, must scrimp and save to purchase a new coat for the cold Russian winter in “The Overcoat”. But after one night of basking in the warmth of his new coat and the respect of his colleagues, Akaky’s one-of-a-kind overcoat is stolen from him. In his pursuit of justice, Akaky receives no help and is consumed by the loss of his prized possession.
In “The Viy”, Gogol recounts a popular folk story in which a monstrous creature, known by the population of Little Russia as the king of gnomes, helps a witch get revenge on a young student who escaped from her trap years before.
“How the Two Ivans Quarrelled” begins as a merry farce, telling the story of the friendship-ending fight between Ivan Ivanovitch and Ivan Nikiforovitch. The two Ivans have been neighbors and best friends for years despite their numerous differences, but this fight infiltrates every facet of their lives, until they cannot stand the sight of one another.
Then finally in “The Nose”, we see the peak of Gogol’s humor and absurdity when a government official wakes to find his nose has disappeared.
The Russian critic D.S. Mirsky (1890-1939) described the story as “a piece of sheer play, almost sheer nonsense. In it more than anywhere else Gogol displays his extraordinary magic power of making great comic art out of nothing.” This extraordinary power is woven throughout all the stories in this compilation, and it firmly establishes Gogol as a master of the peculiar and the surreal.
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What listeners say about The Overcoat and Other Russian Tales
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael and Jane Bochenski
- 06-06-22
A finely curated selection, superbly read.
I had long wondered why so many speak of Gogol as a master of the short story. No longer. This is a finely curated collection, superbly read. An excellent introduction to a remarkable storyteller’s work.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- BigReaderAbroad
- 15-01-23
Stefan Rudnicki is great.
I really enjoyed Stefan's reading of these stories. His voice is perfect for these Russian stories.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 16-08-23
How entertaining
Wonderful to read something so well crafted. It's hard to imagine a story about a missing nose, but he does.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- N. Booth
- 14-02-23
Table of contents
It's frustrating when story collections don't list what they contain.
This one contains roughly half of the Ukrainian and Petersburg tales. In order:
- The Overcoat
- The Carriage
- A Bewitched Place
- How the Two Ivans Quarrelled
- St John's Eve
- The Viy
- The Lost Letter
- The Nose
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- KiddoGirl
- 14-05-21
Well read classics
Excellent way to familiarise yourself with or revisit those superb classics. Very pleasant voice of the narrator that somehow seems particularly suitable for XIX century Russia settings. You’ll get quite a few short stories in this audiobook, starting with “The Overcoat” and as Dostoyevsky said: “We all came out of Gogol’s Overcoat”. Vladimir Nabokov called it “The greatest Russian short story ever written “. The writing of Gogol is profoundly original and masterful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Martin D James
- 01-02-24
Strange and compelling tales
Strange and compelling tales set in early 19th century Ukraine. Very good performance too. Highly recommend.
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