I found myself chuckling over the absurdity of this story and its characters at multiple points; however, I cannot recommend it wholeheartedly for two reasons: 1) Gogol left this incomplete (this edition included a reconstruction of the second volume, which Gogol tried to burn before his untimely death, which was somewhat helpful but still left much to be desired) and 2) as with many novels of this era, it does get a bit florid at times. I will say that, at least in this translation, Gogol was a masterful writer, and I enjoyed his style most of the time, but it may not be for everyone.