Irrita-me quando esquecem as implicações biográficas do gosto por massa cotovelo (e não sei se já vos disse o quanto gosto de James Wood)

«Like his characters, Gogol was a defensive fantasist. He threw lies around himself like hoops, and danced within them. He was an actor, a liar, a peacock, a salesman of treasures. Friends reported that he was amusing to travel with because he had a great dislike of showing his passport or yielding his name. He liked aliases (Gogel, Gonel, and so on). He irritated others by playing card games he had invented and then changing the rules during play. He became rather selfishly involved with undercooked macaroni cheese, a dish he made again and again for guests.»

(James Wood, "Gogol's Realism", in The Broken Estate: Essays on Literature and Belief)

(Quando morei em Edinburgo, costumava participar num jogo de shots chamado "Go-gol dancing". O jogo era despoletado pelo primeiro cliente da noite (enfim: tarde, manhã... eu tinha uma vida diferente) que se dirigisse ao balcão para pedir uma garrafa de Ochakovo Ruby. Um dos participantes tinha então de se levantar, dançar um boogiezinho, debitar um facto biográfico sobre Gogol e beber um Bloody Bastard. Terão de acreditar na minha palavra quando vos digo que isto era bastante menos decadente do que soa.)