Dead Souls

I just finished reading "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol, my first by a Russian master. I am tempted to think this is probably the best book to be taken for reading of the Russian masters. The story does'nt sound as morbid as the title does, actually it is a wonderful parody of the Russian life and the society of the time. It is such a pity that Gogol had such a short life and only one book. The ending is not Gogol, ostensibly because he is said to have burned some of his manuscripts, so the ending is not the same class as the rest. A wonderful book.