"First published in 1842, before Russian serfs were emancipated in 1861. It’s considered a picaresque novel; Don Quixote-ish – a journey with a lot of satire and absurd situations with a rascal as a main character, a man who always has a get-rich-quick scheme going. He’s kind of happy-go-lucky - a drinker, gambler, liar. The main character is buying “dead souls” – papers from other property owners whose serfs died (ownership of serfs went with the property). The point was to reduce his tax burden, since serfs were taxed unless he had papers showing they had died. We learn about life in Russia at the time, about masters and peasants. He travels by coach with two servants and goes to a lot of taverns and gambles a lot. Each negotiation to buy serfs is different. There are high society balls. The author comments a lot on language – Russian and French; the provinces versus the cities and “we Russians” vs. French, British, Germans and English. There’s humor but hopelessness of ever changing the conditions of serfdom." --