Gogol certainly has a magical way in writing such intriguing and captivating stories. More like a painter than a novelist, he skillfully portrays the details of his characters in a way that can only leave you amused. I don't know which I liked most; the Ukranian provincial tales of simple-hearted, naive people whose lives are full of mystical stories or the Petersburg tales which ironically depicts a sophisticated classist society rife with contradictions.. Both types touched my heart with their ingenuity and I can now clearly see why Dostoevsky said "We all come out from Gogol's Overcoat".