La notte prima di Natale

Vamos acercándonos a la Fiestas y algunos lectores comienzan a correr a las librerías o escarbar entre sus estantes todo aquel cuento o novela que tenga relación con la Navidad. Algunos hasta releen por octava vez el “Cuento de Navidad” de Charles Dickens. En mi caso no actúo de esa manera, pero lo q Leggi tutto

What a wonderful Ukrainian folktale.

“The Night Before Christmas”—the first story in the second volume of Gogol’s Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka (1832)—is one of the author’s Ukrainian stories in which the supernatural element is strong, and I believe that it is precisely these stories which constitute his best early work. Of all of t Leggi tutto

Totally different book than American writer, "Clement C. Moore's" "The Night Before Christmas". Moore's book is all "visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads" while Gogol's book has the devil running amok on the night before Christmas. My Penguin Classic edition has a small synopsis in the beginn Leggi tutto

This was a fast paced read on a Ukrainian/ Russian folktale. And I enjoyed the drawings in it. On this one night there is an ordinary devil left to roam among Christian folk and teach them devilish tricks. "If a man carries the devil on his shoulders, he doesn't have far to go." (pg. 36)

This is an interesting Christmas story with a combination of reality and fantasy. With an unusual character set, which includes the Devil, a witch and a pious blacksmith, Gogol creates a charming story thematically touching on good against evil, love, jealousy and revenge. For a short fiction, Gogol Leggi tutto

Relato corto, o más bien folclórico, que cuenta como el diablo aparece en víspera de Navidad en la aldea de Dikanka (Ucrania) para vengarse de un herrero por haberse atrevido a pintarlo de una manera que no le place. Un herrero llamado Vakula , que esta enamorado de la más bella coqueta del pueblo. A Leggi tutto

The Night Before Christmas is a scary and hilarious and jolly and most delicious Gothic love story. Why is it so Gothic? Because the blacksmith and the devil are in love with the same girl and on Christmas Eve they start competing for her heart. “The devil flew up to the moon, reached out and tried t Leggi tutto

I never read other folklore/fairy tales from other countries than West Europe or Korea. So, it was definitely a lot to process in the beginning to understand the different culture and people described in this book. The story shows the night before Christmas in Dikanka, Ukraine, where the devil steal Leggi tutto

Tudo começou com uma bruxa que apagou as estrelas e um diabo que meteu a lua no bolso... O resto não lhe fica atrás, confusões e trapalhadas que só uma mente genial como a de Gogol se lembraria de inventar para um conto de Natal.