And the Earth Will Sit on the Moon

Russian literature did not feature at all in my education, be it secondary or tertiary. It wasn’t much on my radar either. I definitely had an awareness for some of those fat novels written by some of the greats. I must admit I was well into adulthood before Gogol hit my radar and despite having a paperback of his stories on a bookshelf for many years, it was this book that finally motivated me to finally read his work.

I thought short stories would surely be easier than one of those long novels but I was mistaken. It definitely wasn’t an easy read for me. Perhaps this was not helped much by the first story, “The Nose” about a man whose nose suddenly disappears to lead a life of its own. It’s totally satire but the absurdity of it all was hard to get past while reading.

The stories get easier from there with “Diary of a Madman” about a man who seems to be at a loss as to his place in the world. It gets a bit nonsensical at times, which isn’t surprising considering its title. My favorite was “The Overcoat” about a man who has had his overcoat patched to the maximum and is faced with having to have a new one made. I also quite liked “Old World Landowners” about a couple who own a large property. The last story is called “The Carriage and is about another landowner who has need of a fine carriage. This one has an odd twist to end it but I won’t say I liked it to a great degree.

The first three stories are all set in St. Petersburg and center around civil servants and their woes. The last two are set in the Ukraine and center around landowners and their own situations. It’s a limited but relatively diverse selection of stories and I consider it a good introduction to a writer known for his short stories.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Pushkin Press for sharing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I rate this 4 stars.