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Post by Dominique on Jun 18, 2007 6:55:31 GMT -5
Starting July sometime. Schedule to come. QUICK OVERVIEW/BACKGROUND NOTES TO THE NOVEL- It was first published in 1842.
- It is a novel in verse.
- It ends mid-sentence. It was originally supposed to be the first part of a trilogy. Supposedly Gogol finished the second part of the trilogy but destroyed it before he died, reportedly at the urgings of a religious fanatic.
- The title refers to two things:
1. The word "soul" was used to measure serfs (serfs were basically a kind of slaves who would work on the land in exchange for protection, a small amount of what they produced etc). These serfs were considered the property of the landowner and could be bought or sold and so for example "six souls of serfs" was the measurment of six serfs. The title refers to dead serfs. 2. The title also refers to the dead souls of it's characters, who embody Nabokov's "poshlust" (which we learnt about in Reading Lolita) which wikipedia defines as: "self-satisfied inferiority, moral and spiritual, with overtones of middle-class pretentiousness, fake significance and philistinism".
- It is a satire.
Ok so that was a very brief overview just basically to provide a quick general knowledge of Dead Souls. Most of that information was from wikipedia so feel free to correct me if it isn't accurate.
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Jun 20, 2007 7:47:47 GMT -5
I'm not sure how to go about dividing this book into sections to set up a reading schedule - all suggestions are welcome!
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Jul 1, 2007 17:24:16 GMT -5
OK, here's what I thought: since it's summertime for most of us (sorry Dom, Neh and Brune!) and we have a bit more time to read AND since Harry Potter is coming out on July 21st AND since it seems difficult to hold interest in the discussion if the reading schedule is too long, I thought we could try working with a faster schedule this time around. So here's how it could go:
Chapters 1 to 4: Start posting on July 5 Chapters 5 to 7: Start posting on July 12 Chapters 8 to 11: Start posting on July 19
I hope everybody's fine with it, muchas gracias Kristie for helping me with the schedule!
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Jul 7, 2007 6:28:36 GMT -5
Hmmm... since no one has posted yet, I'm assuming I didn't pick the right schedule. Would you guys rather spread it out a bit or postpone it until August?
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Post by Dominique on Jul 7, 2007 7:49:59 GMT -5
lol I just realised why, this threaD is locked I will unlock it. I must have locked it when I posted it with just the message schedule coming soon. Sorry!
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Michelle
First novel published
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Post by Michelle on Jul 7, 2007 12:41:04 GMT -5
I didn't even see that message about the schedule. Guess I should start reading, huh?
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Jul 7, 2007 13:09:48 GMT -5
LOL, oops!! yeah, unlocking it might be a good start but if you guys aren't comfortable with the reading schedule as it stands right now, feel free to let us know and we'll modify it.
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Post by Carma on Jul 7, 2007 14:28:18 GMT -5
well, I haven't started yet.,. and the book will arrive next week, so maybe a bit later?? I don't know if anyone has started already, if I'm the only one who is late, i don't mind you guys starting to post I'll catch up
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Michelle
First novel published
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Post by Michelle on Jul 7, 2007 17:20:30 GMT -5
If other people want to, I wouldn't mind waiting a bit, too.
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Jul 7, 2007 17:23:32 GMT -5
Would August be too late? Again I'm thinking about all the people who are gonna be busy reading Harry Potter at the end of July
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mv
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
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Post by mv on Jul 8, 2007 15:47:16 GMT -5
August might be better. I've only just started the book, but HP will definitely be a distraction!
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Michelle
First novel published
Posts: 2,563
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Post by Michelle on Jul 8, 2007 23:57:02 GMT -5
August is better for me, but if others want to start now, I don't mind.
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Nathalie
Collection of short stories bought by Random House
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Post by Nathalie on Jul 9, 2007 2:24:24 GMT -5
if we were to postpone it to august, even i could finally participate in a discussion.
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Jul 9, 2007 7:38:58 GMT -5
Alright, so here's the new schedule:
Chapters 1 to 4: Start posting on August 8 Chapters 5 to 7: Start posting on August 18 Chapters 8 to 11: Start posting on August 28
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Post by Dominique on Jul 9, 2007 7:49:11 GMT -5
sounds good to me
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