La notte prima di Natale

What devil has done this to the moon, I want to know? May he never have a shot of vodka in the morning.The Night Before Christmas ~~ Nikolai Gogol Such a wonderful Ukrainian folktale. Nothing more need be said except read Gogol's The Night Before Christmas every December 23 .

"Nadie supo en Dikanka cómo el diablo robó la Luna. Bien es verdad que el escribiente de la comarca, cuando salió de la taberna tambaleándose, dijo, y no sabemos por qué, que la veía bailar en el cielo.¿Cuál fue que la causa que empujó al diablo a cometer una acto tan inaudito? Ahora se verá." Siemp Leggi tutto

“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

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

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 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

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)

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

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

Ένα ρωσικό χριστουγεννιάτικο παραμύθι από τον μεγάλο Νικολάι Γκόγκολ, ένα ανάγνωσμα που θα πρέπει όλοι να διαβάζουμε αυτές τις ημέρες σύμφωνα με τον Ναμπόκοφ. Η ιστορία του σιδερά Βακούλα, ο οποίος για να πετύχει τον ερωτικό του σκοπό, τιθασεύει ακόμη και τον διάβολο, παρουσιάζεται με παραστατικότητ Leggi tutto