This happened in the following way. Akaki Akakievitch was born, if I am not mistaken, on the night of the 23rd of March. His deceased mother, the wife of an official and a very good woman, immediately made proper arrangements for his baptism. When the time came, she was lying on the bed before the door.
At her right hand stood the godfather, Ivan Ivanovitch Jeroshkin, a very important person, who was registrar of the senate; at her left, the godmother Anna Semenovna Byelobrushkova, the wife of a police inspector, a woman of rare virtues. Three names were suggested to the mother from which to choose one for the child—Mokuja, Sossuja, or Khozdazat. In order to meet her wishes, the church calendar was opened in another place, and the names Triphiliy, Dula, and Varakhasiy were found.
I never heard the like! If it had been Varadat or Varukh, but Triphiliy and Varakhasiy! So the child was called Akaki Akakievitch. It was baptised, although it wept and cried and made all kinds of grimaces, as though it had a presentiment that it would one day be a titular councillor.
We have related all this so conscientiously that the reader himself might be convinced that it was impossible for the little Akaki to receive any other name. When and how he entered the chancellery and who appointed him, no one could remember. His only joy in life is derived from his copy work. Even being asked to make the most minor changes to the original version throws him into a tizzy. His co-workers make fun of him, but other than a pitiful protest of "Leave me alone! Until one day, when he realizes that his overcoat has become so threadbare that it won't keep off the cold St.
Petersburg winter. Gradually Akaky gets more and more excited about his new coat. And when he finally gets the finished overcoat -- lined with cat fur because marten fur is too expensive sorry to my feline-loving friends! Of course, this being 19th century Russian literature, you know it's going to go south for poor Akaky.
He fruitlessly tries to get the police and some government guy to help him, gets totally shot down, walks home in the freezing cold, gets sick and dies. Petersburg, pulling coats off of pedestrians. And is that a tougher, more masculine Akaky ghost at the very end, or a different ghost?
I'm not quite certain but I'm inclined to think it's Akaky. It didn't quite feel integral to me, Nabokov's inspired praises notwithstanding. So, four stars from me, even though I actually though it was an amusing ending and I liked seeing a certain character get his comeuppance. Free online several places, including here at Project Gutenberg in a collection of Russian short stories.
Aug 23, Florencia rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: All of you. Shelves: favorites , russian. My first contact with Gogol, and certainly not my last. This little book tells the story of Akakiy Akakievitch, a certain official in a certain department where nobody showed him any sign of respect, being mocked by his coworkers. I believe that must be one of the worst things that may happen to a human being: realising that high school did not end it doesn't bring back good memories to many people.
The bullying, the bad jokes, the embarrassing moments that make you gently ask the ground to eat My first contact with Gogol, and certainly not my last. The bullying, the bad jokes, the embarrassing moments that make you gently ask the ground to eat you alive, the psychological and emotional harm, all of that now at your workplace?
You have to love the irony. The Overcoat is, well, a story about an overcoat. It seems to have more importance than Akakiy himself, the responsible guy with the unfortunate name. That's another thing: mothers, what are you thinking about when you give your children ridiculous names?
Please, spare them a lot of trouble, save yourselves a lot of money in psychologists and start naming your kids properly. I don't know why they don't change their own name into some fruit, weird magicians, comic superheroes, cars, cardinal points or anything else they seem to love.
Especially you, celebrity people who don't know I exist and won't read this in your entire life. Rant officially over. If you search for "Akakiy Akakievitch", you'll understand.
I had to do that because I wanted to know why the author spent several lines explaining how he got his name and, of course, I don't speak Russian. As I was saying, this book is about view spoiler [a man who was constantly humiliated at work and his ruined overcoat, which he wanted to repair because of the cold, cold winter and the bad, bad jokes. So he decided to buy a new one, and after living under a tight budget, he managed to do so.
And suddenly, he became a respectable man. That laughable poor devil who always endured those hideous jokes and never replied to anyone was now an important member in his department; of society, even. His brand new overcoat gave him confidence, some self-esteem. People organised a party in his honour—to be fair, in the overcoat's honour but still, it was a big deal.
I loved this short story; it contains some beautiful and heartfelt lines Everything seems to change but the most significant things don't change that much. That's one of the reasons I love literature. Books written hundreds of years ago talking about situations, attitudes, emotions, ways of thinking that we still see, experience and feel nowadays.
The responses of the general population towards routine, overbearing bureaucracy, discrimination, injustice, exploitation or alienation haven't changed so much throughout history. Not all writers have what it takes to explore these universal emotions and write something you can immediately relate to.
But Gogol seems to be one of them. He had that keen eye meant to observe individuals and humanity as a whole and could write about it so vividly I could totally see my previous boss in some passages. Gogol's influence on Russian literature is unquestionable. Dostoyevsky, Bulgakov, even Kafka, so my favourite authors are all connected here.
The Overcoat is a short story that speaks volumes. Do not miss it. View all 39 comments. Aug 31, İntellecta rated it it was amazing Shelves: classics-of-the-world-literature , russian-literature. Jul 17, Maureen rated it really liked it. Loved it! View all 9 comments. Sep 15, Mark Porton rated it it was amazing Shelves: classics , 5-stars , short-stories. Sometimes the best reading experiences are the little ones that pop-up out of nowhere, just like The Overcoat by Nikloai Gogol.
His co-workers rib him relentlessly, but he takes it — one can only feel sorry for this quiet, unassuming guy. Poor Akaky has an overcoat, and Sometimes the best reading experiences are the little ones that pop-up out of nowhere, just like The Overcoat by Nikloai Gogol.
But the threadbare garment gets to the stage where it needs to be repaired again or replaced God forbid! Enter the half-pickled Petrovich, his local tailor.
Akaky needs to negotiate with the hungover Petrovich for the repair or replacement of the coat. This is where things get interesting. Eventually Akaky comes across an Important Personage - I love that moniker — and the whole fate of Akaky is turned on its head.
This story has a dark, miserable element to it for sure. Its grim, life is hard — a world without joy. I loved this. Interesting observation: Akaky, operated on a roster of two pairs of underpants! I must say this makes my dedicated team of ten pairs a little excessive, I may need to scale back and get some of that all too precious drawer space back!!
Akaky is a man after my own heart — why throw away perfectly good clothes when they are still wearable? I have never understood people who a buy clothes other than when totally necessary and b throw away favourite and still functioning pieces of clothing even if it's only the holes and stubborn stains keeping the things together.
I was certainly on his side. Do you sympathise with Akaky? Yes, I do, as said above — he was harmless and quietly went about his way. Kind, quiet and dedicated. Go Akaky! What is your reaction to the trouble that befalls him? Well Mr Important Personage, is a complete and utter arrogant bastard.
The antithesis of our hero Akaky. This guy is arrogant and a complete bully. The world is too full of people like this, making life miserable for those around them — believing they are entitled to do so purely because of the senior position they hold. View all 52 comments. Feb 20, Piyangie rated it liked it Shelves: short-story-novella , russian-lit.
The Overcoat tells the story of life and death of one Akaky Akakievich, a government official in a certain department. The first part of the story introduces us to the personality of Akaky and his poor living conditions.
The job though satisfying doesn't earn enough to keep him well clothed and bred. He is extremely reserved and becomes a constant subject of ridicule. Akaky, after much labour and suffe The Overcoat tells the story of life and death of one Akaky Akakievich, a government official in a certain department.
Akaky, after much labour and suffering, becomes a proud owner of an overcoat. And here ends the first part of the story. In the second part of the story, the reader learns the misfortune of Akaky. He is robbed of his overcoat; his efforts at recovering his lost property are rendered futile. His disappointment over his loss and the exposure to ill weather in its absence sees him to an early grave. But here the story gets better, for Akaky comes back from the dead to seek justice and takes revenge from those who had failed to help him!
This little story tells many things: It exposes the poverty-stricken lives of middle class working people; it shows the uncompassionate and bullying nature of the humans; it brings to light the inefficiency and unjust and unsatisfactory conduct of government bureaucrats of Russia under the Imperial regime. Gogol is said to be a pioneer in realistic writing. His writing as is portrayed in The Overcoat is touched on real characters and real themes that concern human society.
There is an easy grace in his writing which makes it undemanding to read. It is one of the best attributes of his writing. His direct and at times sardonic writing is quite appealing. Overall, I enjoyed this short work. Personally, I cannot place Gogol in the same light as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, but I do like his style.
View all 4 comments. I am aghast that it took me until the ripe old age I am today to read this wonderful short story. Don't let my story be yours. It takes 30 minutes to read. Invest it today. Also, I read it because of Tadiana's most excellent review, to which I can add nothing of value.
It's a must-read. View all 13 comments. Aug 30, Beata rated it it was amazing. I absolutely love it Kamaszkin as a tragic character always moves me View all 5 comments. Sep 01, Laysee rated it really liked it. The Overcoat is a sad and sobering short story set in St. I read it with earnest hope for a good outcome, yet with a knowing tug that grew surer by the minute that it was a lost cause. Akaky Akakievich Shoenik is a lowly copying clerk who takes pride in his poor paying job.
He wears a shabby frock coat that has worn out so thin it lets the draft in. In Petersburg, the poor are at the mercy of the northern cold. That the young clerks mock and laugh at him and make his irredeemable overcoat the butt of their jokes made me feel tenderly toward him. And so I followed him on his quest for a new overcoat and more importantly, his unspoken quest for compassion among those who had the means to render him assistance.
Gogol unsentimentally revealed the harshness of Russian society in which rank was all important and decried the cruelty of man toward man. This is my first foray into the writing of Nikolai Gogol and I wish to read more by him.
This story can be read here: The Overcoat View all 36 comments. Shelves: short-stories , classic-literature , russian-lit. I first heard of this story while reading Jhumpa Lahiri 's fantastic novel The Namesake. Since then, I've been curious to read it and I finally had a chance to do it.
If you Google "The Namesake and The Overcoat", you'll find plenty of posts analyzing the connection between the two. The Overcoat follows the life and death of Akaky Akakievich, a middle-aged man, that works as a government clerk in St. The first edition of the novel was published in , and was written by Nikolai Gogol. The book was published in multiple languages including Russian, consists of pages and is available in Paperback format.
The main characters of this short stories, classics story are ,. The book has been awarded with , and many others. Please note that the tricks or techniques listed in this pdf are either fictional or claimed to work by its creator.
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