Great resource for undergraduates, graduates and scholars alike Valuable insight into St. Petersburg everyday life during Gogol¿s time, inaccessible to the modern Western reader, as well as to many Russian readers. Blank's observations are based on her long-term experience of teaching ¿The Nose¿ in upper-level Russian language and literature courses at Princeton. The Guide offers a close reading of ¿The Nose¿ that focuses on confusing details, statements that have figurative or connotative meaning, oddly formed sentences and literally interpreted idioms, as well as many other obscure remarks made by the author in his witty banter with the reader. Provides full text of "The Nose" in Russian Although there exists a vast corpus of secondary literature on Gogol¿s ¿The Nose¿ in both Russian and Western scholarship, this literary companion provides a comprehensive view of this little gem of Russian literature in a single volume. Perfect resource for academic libraries, particularly with strong literature or Russian/Eastern European programs