Gogol’s legacy

Undoubtedly the finest literary work by Russian-language author, Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852), was his short-story collection, Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, comprising two volumes, each of four stories. Ukrainian by birth, the stories, set in Ukraine, are enriched by the country’s culture, lore and traditions. Through this work, in which he interlaces the comic with the macabre, Gogol established himself as a new and powerful voice in Russia’s literary firmament. The style of writing set out in this collection formed the blueprint for his later works – a style highly praised by luminaries such as Anton Chekhov (The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard), Franz Kafka (The Metamorphosis) and Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita and Pale Fire). Referring to The Overcoat, one of Gogol’s intriguing short stories, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov)– acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest writers – is quoted as saying: “We all came out from under Gogol’s overcoat.” In terms of style and subject matter, Gogol’s writings have much in common with those of celebrated American short-story exponent, Edgar Allan Poe (The Tell-Tale Heart and The Pit and the Pendulum) who, coincidentally, was also born in 1809, though died two years earlier than Gogol.