Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

My son is a fan of Russian literature. I asked him for his favorite and he recommended this one to me. Gogol has been referred to as the Russian Charles Dickens and wrote this book in 1842. I started the book a number of times and had a hard time getting past the first chapter. I decided to listen to it instead during my walks each day. This was much more successful. The beauty of this story is in the language of the author and not necessarily in the plot or characters, although I became invested in both of those as time went on. The narrator has a wonderful rich voice and the Russian names rolled off his tongue beautifully. 

The premise of the story is not as macabre as the title suggests. This story takes place during the time of Russian serfdom. Owners of these serfs paid taxes on them even after they died. Our hero of the story, Paul Ivanovich Chichikov, decides that to increase his income he will buy the serfs who have passed on from their owners so they won't have to pay taxes on deceased individuals and thus make money off of these dead souls as he will not inform the government that they are actually dead. This, in a nutshell, is the beginning and end of the story. Yet the beauty of the story exists in the characterizations of the colorful characters you meet which becomes very satisfying. I found myself laughing outloud as I was walking, listening to some of the portrayals of the people Chichikov met and attempted to do business with. The descriptive language helped me see 19th century Russia in clear detail. 

Recommend: yes, with the caveat that it's not for the casual reader of fluffy fiction, but well worth the extra effort.