I pushed through this book of caricatures of russian people and the class values that shaped society during serfdom. it was a struggle at times. and i pushed through because there had to be a point to it all.

and i was very sad to get to the point where gogol stopped writing, very angry to find that there was no end, and no great point of the whole journey.

1249 pages but i still have questions.... guess ill just keep waiting and hoping.

This one was hard for me emotionally... I wish i had Anne's clarity and control.

"Why is it that we aren't all like brothers to one another?
Why is it that the very best person is always hiding something from other people and is quiet about it? Why not say frankly and immediately what's in your heart, if you know that you're not speaking idly? As it is, everyone looks more severe than they actually are, as though they're all afraid their feelings will be hurt if they reveal them too
soon..."

"The progress of Vice is gradual and imperceptible..."

The first 100 pages took me about 2 nonths to read, but i persevered. the first 100 pages and the rest of the book are like chalk and cheese. honestly if i read it again i should begin when the day of misrule is done.

How masterful is a craftsman who works a trade their whole life.

It's all the worst of Australia conveniently packaged together.

The end, unfortunately, seems a bit tacked on.

Lifes easier when you can be bothered to tell little lies.

I was expecting to be wowed but, its all a bit flat. Im sure I'm missing something..?

Soo. Good.

My fave line: ' A person can always find two places to choose from. Home, and the rest of the world with all the other people in it'.

Gorgeous.

Re reas this, one of my all time faves.

"I should like to know which is worse: to be raped a hundred times by pirates, and have a buttock cut off, and run the gauntlet of the Bulgarians, and be flogged and hanged in an auto-da-fe, and be dissected, and have to row in a galley -- in short, to undergo all the miseries we have each of us suffered -- or simply to sit here and do nothing?'
That is a hard question,' said Candide."

Its in the family of 1984 but its not quite as satisfying. Considering it was banned on release, perhaps Kadare was holding back a little, knowing that even by holding back, it was still destined to shock and disrupt.

An incredible idea, that the state surveils the population as they willingly submit their dreams for interpretation. Great.

Can someone explain the end to me? K thanks

They're like, the same book, but flipped. I prefer the born wild, is broken, fights hard, becomes a pet and is loved version of as to the born and loved in captivity, stolen, worked hard and then finding freedom. Which, is odd cause most prefer COTW right?

I found all the characters terribly unlikeable... but i desperately desire to explore the tunnels, lake, stairways and basements of the Paris Opera.

Laugh away, he thought. For frivolous fellows like you the world is a bed of roses.