Dead Souls book club questions

1. 1.

   Chichikov is a con man, but Gogol gives him more narrative sympathy than most of his victims. Does the novel want you to like him, and if so, why?

2. 2.

   Each landowner Chichikov visits is a different variety of mediocrity and corruption. Which one did you find most recognizable — and does the recognition make you laugh or cringe?

3. 3.

   Gogol described Dead Souls as a 'poem' not a novel. What do you think he meant, and does the text support that claim?

4. 4.

   The famous troika passage — 'Whither art thou soaring away to, then, Russia?' — is a sudden shift from comedy to elegy. Does it land, or does it feel like Gogol changing registers without warning?

5. 5.

   Gogol burned the second part of Dead Souls before he died. If the completed novel is Hell, what would Purgatory have looked like? What kind of Russia would have to exist for Gogol to write it?

6. 6.

   The scheme Chichikov runs — buying dead serfs — is only possible because of serfdom itself. Does the novel make the political point explicitly, or is it left as background radiation?

7. 7.

   Plyushkin is introduced last and is the novel's most extreme character. Why does Gogol save him for last? What is the structural function of his hoarding?

8. 8.

   Nozdryov, the compulsive liar and braggart, nearly exposes Chichikov several times but is so unreliable that no one believes him. What is Gogol saying about truth-telling in this society?

9. 9.

   The townspeople's collective hysteria once rumors start about Chichikov — they can't agree on who he is or what he wants — reads almost like a crowd psychology experiment. What is Gogol satirizing there?

10. 10.

    Dead Souls is in the satirical-novel tradition that runs through Don Quixote and Candide to modern comic novels. How does it compare to other satirical fiction you've read?

11. 11.

    Gogol wrote this novel while living abroad, looking at Russia from the outside. Does that exile perspective show in the text? What does distance do to satire?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.