So claimed Dostoevsky or Tolstoy, or both. But it was the reference made to 'The Overcoat' and 'Gogol' in the 2007 movie 'The Namesake' that left me sufficiently intrigued about this Russian writer and this particular story.
So while rearranging my bookshelf the other day, I was more than happy to chance upon 'The Overcoat' by Nikolai Gogol as one of the stories in this really old book by the title of '6 Great Modern Short Stories'. Understandably I began with some intrigue and absolutely no warning of things to come.
The story revolves around this loser clerk from an unspecified department; and how a new overcoat makes his life rather eventful -at first for him. And then, for the residents of St. Petersburg.
It's a good read any day. A better read after a bad day at work. And if you get Monday blues like me, it's best read on Sunday night. The morbid absurdity, the endearingly mundane situations and the comic mixed with tragic kept me hooked - and smiling - till the last line.
Next on my agenda is his short story 'The Nose'. It's a story of one man's search for his lost nose. I should hope that it's nothing short of absurd, again.
[Original pic by seriykotik1970]
