The first to deal in the subjects of surrealism, his work is a must
Nikolai Gogol was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright who is famously known for being the first literary figure to have used the techniques of surrealism and the grotesque in his works. From the year 1831, Gogol's first volume of Ukrainian stories called Evenings on a Farm NearDikanka was published. From the onset, his work was met with tremendous success, followed by two volumes of stories entitled Mirgorod and two volumes of miscellaneous prose entitled Arabesques. So here is presenting a list of a few great Nikolai Gogol works.
The Old World Landowners
This short story is part of the Mirgorod collection, written in 1835. This is the first tale in the collection and narrates the bittersweet and ironic reworking of the Baucis and Philemon legend from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The story begins with a loving and detailed description of two landowners - AfanasyIvanovichTovstogub and PulkheriyaIvanovnaTovstogubikha – living peacefully in the countryside. The story swiftly navigates the readers through the two old landowners’ lives showing their day-to-day lives introducing a strange persona in the story. Pulkheriya’s grey cat!
Diary of a Madman
This 1835 farcical short story revolves around the life of a minor civil servant during the era of Nicholas I. it is the only one of Gogol's works written in first person and follows the diary-entry format. The story narrates the tale of the descent of the protagonist, Poprishchin, into insanity. The entries are a haphazard mix of past tense recounting events of the day with present time.
The Gamblers
This is an 1840 play showing the story of Ikharev, a gambler who just won 80 thousand rubles checks into an inn in a small Russian town. The story shows how three gamblers staying at the inn meet him over a game of cards. And instantly, the gamblers identify him as a fellow gambler.
St. John's Eve
Also known as The Eve of Ivan Kupala, this is the second short story in the collection Evenings on a Farm NearDikanka. This story is a re-telling by Rudy Panko, the sexton of the Dikanka church.
A few others of Nikolai Gogol’s works are The Government Inspector, Dead Souls, TarasBulba, The Nose, Viy, The Overcoat, NevskyProspekt. His short stories are Diary of a Madman, The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich, The Portrait, and The Carriage, are also among his best-known works.
