I didn't like this at all. A Russian acquaintance suggested this as the greatest Russian novel. Large chunks are unreadable, pages and pages of low-quality metaphysics. The plot is not so attractive. The characters remain ciphers throughout. Themes are introduced but then suddenly dropped without resolution. The ending is rushed. I think Dostoyevsky got bored with it himself.
Pretty good. Apparently written in two parts. The first is good, the second less so. Gogol apparently has difficulty coming up with a good ending. Readable.
Good. Mencken is great. A very modern cynic. I wish he were alive today. Not every essay is good, but the good ones are very good.
An amusing and cynical attack on the american people. If you like self-mockery and social criticism, you'll like this. Not everything he writes is quite right, perhaps, but this is readable and enjoyable.