Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
In this satirical novel, a man travels through Russia buying up the titles to deceased serfs (or "souls") from their naive landowners, under the guise of a get-rich-quick scheme. However, his real plan is to use these "dead souls" to create a phantom estate and secure a massive loan. The story explores the corruption and greed prevalent in 19th-century Russian society and provides a unique perspective on the human condition.
The 104th greatest book of all time
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Total Points: 2291
This book was first published in 1842
25 Lists
- score: 200 -- Top 100 Works in World Literature - 2002 (Weight: 200)
- score: 190 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 180)
- score: 183 -- The Main Works of Russian literature - 2018 (Weight: 150)
- score: 181 -- The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time - 2007 (Weight: 180)
- score: 177 -- Finest Works of Fiction - 1980 (Weight: 167)
- score: 170 -- Pour une Bibliothèque Idéale - 1956 (Weight: 170)
- score: 169 -- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher - 2005 (Weight: 160)
- score: 169 -- The Bigger Read List - 2003 (Weight: 160)
- score: 148 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 140)
- score: 100 -- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition - 2011 (Weight: 100)
- score: 80 -- TrueLit's Top 100 Favorite Books (2023) - 2023 (Weight: 80)
- score: 75 -- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher - 2009 (Weight: 71)
- score: 74 -- William H. F. Lamont’s 100 Best Novels (1947) - 1947 (Weight: 70)
- score: 64 -- The 100 Greatest Novels - 2008 (Weight: 61)
- score: 63 -- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon - 1994 (Weight: 60)
- score: 50 -- R/ClassicLiterature's Top 100 Favorite Books - 2026 (Weight: 50)
- score: 50 -- 4chan’s Literature Board’s Aggregate Top 100 Books for the Decade 2014 - 2024 - 2024 (Weight: 50)
- score: 33 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 30)
- score: 33 -- Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books - 2011 (Weight: 33)
- score: 31 -- The New Lifetime Reading Plan - 1999 (Weight: 30)
- score: 20 -- The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users - 2008 (Weight: 20)
- score: 10 -- The 100 Best Novels in Translation by Boyd Tonkin - 2019 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- Masterpieces of World Literature - 1991 (Weight: 10)
- score: 1 -- Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List - 2018 (Weight: 1)