The main features of F. M. Dostoevsky’s novellas and stories are theatrical staging of events, scandalous—and at the same time tragic—development of plot, and a more complex psychological portrayal.
“Uncle’s Dream” (1859) is a comic novella about an old parasite—a kind of “remnant of aristocracy.” Gloves, ties, vests, and perfumes can’t turn a “spring puppet” into a young man…
“The Crocodile” (1865)—the original title was “About a Husband Eaten by a Crocodile”—is an acute-comical, grotesque situation that will remind the listener of Gogol’s well-known work “The Nose.”
“A Disgraceful Anecdote” (1862) is a harsh satire on bureaucrats and officials of the reform era.