The Crocodile

by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (Translator)

Overview

The Crocodile is a classic Russian short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky. This work by the great Russian bard is an unusual but amusing tale about a man swallowed by a crocodile with a serious message about economics and communism. The story relates the events that befall one Ivan Matveich when he, his wife Elena Ivanovna, and the narrator visit the Arcade to see a crocodile that has been put on display by a German entrepreneur. After teasing the crocodile, Ivan Matveich is swallowed alive. He finds the inside of the crocodile to be quite comfortable, and the animal's owner refuses to allow it to be cut open, in spite of the pleas from Elena Ivanovna. Ivan Matveich urges the narrator to arrange for the crocodile to be purchased and cut open, but the owner asks so much for it that nothing is done. As the story ends Elena Ivanovna is contemplating divorce and Ivan Matveich resolves to carry on his work as a civil servant as best he can from inside the crocodile. The liberal press declared the story a low parody of the fate of the Russian socialist writer Nikolai Chernyshevsky, who wrote his novel What Is to Be Done? and numerous letters while confined in Peter and Paul Fortress. Dostoyevsky denied that the similarities were intentional.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781502365873
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	09/14/2014
Pages:	44
Sales rank:	941,564
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.09(d)

About the Author

Fyodor Dostoyevsky was an 18th century Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and philosopher. His best-known works include Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov.?

Tom Basden has written for some of Britain’s best TV comedies, including Peep Show, Fresh Meat, The Wrong Mans, and Plebs, which won Best New Comedy at the British Comedy Awards 2013 and Best Scripted Comedy at the RTS Awards 2014. He is also a member of sketch group Cowards, who wrote and performed their own TV series on BBC4. For Radio 4 he has made two series of Cowards and three series of his sitcom Party, based on his 2009 play. He has written plays for the National Theatre, the Arts Theatre and the Gate and has taken plays and solo comedy shows to the Edinburgh, Melbourne and Sydney Festivals. He has been nominated for a BAFTA three times, and has won a Fringe First and an Edinburgh Comedy Award.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A lucid and stylish translation . . . evocative of the wit and satire of the original; it is both accurate and fluid." --Dostoevsky Studies

Editorial Reviews

"A lucid and stylish translation . . . evocative of the wit and satire of the original; it is both accurate and fluid." —Dostoevsky Studies

From the Publisher