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Part of the Norton Library series"As Kate Holland notes in her fine introduction to these new translations, Nikolai Gogol is a hybrid: Ukrainian-Russian, Romantic-Realist, equal parts nightmare and satire. Michael Katz hears this hybrid tension. We sense the terror and fantasy of Ukrainian folklore flooding Petersburg space, revealing a Gogol for our haunted times."
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Caryl Emerson (Princeton University)The Norton Library edition of Selected Tales features a collection of Nikolai Gogol's most regarded short fiction: "Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Auntie," "Nevsky Prospect," "Notes of a Madman," "The Nose," "The Carriage," "The Portrait," and "The Overcoat" newly translated by Michael R. Katz. An introduction by Kate Holland situates the stories in the historical context of imperial St. Petersburg, inviting readers to appreciate Gogol's incisive social critique and the transformative vision of his writing.
The Norton Library is a growing collection of high-quality texts and translations-influential works of literature and philosophy-introduced and edited by leading scholars. Norton Library editions prepare readers for their first encounter with the works that they'll re-read over a lifetime.
- Inviting introductions highlight the work's significance and influence, providing the historical and literary context students need to dive in with confidence.
- Endnotes and an easy-to-read design deliver an uninterrupted reading experience, encouraging students to read the text first and refer to endnotes for more information as needed.
- An affordable price (most $10 or less) encourages students to buy the book and to come to class with the assigned edition.
About the Authors:Michael R. Katz is C. V. Starr Professor Emeritus of Russian and East European Studies at Middlebury College. He has published translations of more than fifteen Russian novels, including
Crime and Punishment,
Notes from Underground, and
The Brothers Karamazov.
Kate Holland is Associate Professor of Russian Literature in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Toronto. She is the author of
The Novel in the Age of Disintegration: Dostoevsky and the Problem of Genre in the 1870s. She is President of the North American Dostoevsky Society.
About the author
Nikolai Gogol was born on March 20, 1809, in the Ukrainian town of Sorochyntsi, on the periphery of the Russian Empire. He attended the Nizhyn School of Higher Art, now Nizhyn Gogol State University, where he first began writing. On leaving school in 1828, Gogol moved to St. Petersburg to pursue his literary ambitions. His first collection of short stories, Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, was published in 1831 to general acclaim. While his early stories were written in the tradition of Ukrainian folklore, his later stories, known as the Petersburg tales, established his reputation as a great surrealist and satirist of life under the Russian Empire. In his later years, Gogol lived abroad throughout Europe, particularly Italy, where he developed a great appreciation for Rome, and wrote the first part of his unfinished masterpiece, Dead Souls. He died in Moscow, Russia, on February 21, 1852.Michael R. Katz is C. V. Starr Professor Emeritus of Russian and East European Studies at Middlebury College. He has published translations of more than fifteen Russian novels, including Crime and Punishment and Notes from Underground. He lives in Cornwall, Vermont.
