The Crocodile (Unabridged) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A satirical tragicomedy of a civil servant swallowed whole, absurd bureaucracy, and philosophical humor in 19th-century RussiaBy Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Length3h 18m
About this audiobook
The Crocodile (Unabridged) is one of Dostoyevsky's sharpest comic satires: a Petersburg civil servant, Ivan Matveich, is swallowed whole by a crocodile exhibited in a shopping arcade, yet continues to speak, scheme, and theorize from within the beast. The tale's grotesque premise becomes a vehicle for mocking bureaucracy, speculative capitalism, journalistic cant, and fashionable Westernizing ideas. Written in a brisk, ironic style, it belongs to Dostoyevsky's tradition of urban absurdity, recalling Gogol while anticipating modernist black comedy. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, shaped by exile in Siberia, financial insecurity, and intense engagement with the ideological controversies of nineteenth-century Russia, repeatedly turned fiction into a laboratory for moral and social inquiry. In this novella, composed during the 1860s, his comic imagination responds to debates about rational egoism, progress, and the reduction of human life to economic calculation. Even at his most playful, Dostoyevsky probes the spiritual emptiness beneath confident modern formulas. This unabridged edition is recommended to readers who know Dostoyevsky chiefly through his monumental tragedies and wish to encounter his mischievous, satirical intelligence. Brief, strange, and densely suggestive, The Crocodile rewards anyone interested in Russian literature, political satire, or the comic origins of existential unease.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreHumor, General Fiction
Length3 hrs 18 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMay 24, 2015
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
7II
2Introduction
8III
3Synopsis
9IV
4Historical Context
10Analysis
5Author Biography
11Reflection
Show all chaptersShow less
6I
12Memorable Quotes
An Unpleasant Predicament: A Nasty Story (Unabridged) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky4h 4m$2 · $0.00
Another Man's Wife And A Husband Under The Bed (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky3h 23m$2 · $0.00
The House of the Dead & Notes from Underground: Autobiographical Novels of Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky18h 40m$2 · $0.00
An Unpleasant Predicament: A Nasty Story (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky3h 56m$2 · $0.00
The Double - Psychological Thriller (Unabridged) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky8h 31m$2 · $0.00
Complete Short Stories and Novellas of Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Unabridged) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky71h 55m$2 · $0.00
The Double - Psychological Thriller (Classic Unabridged Edition) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky8h 29m$2 · $0.00
Poor Folk and Other Stories (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky22h 43m$2 · $0.00
El crimen y el castigo (Anotado)Fyodor Dostoyevsky22h 31m$2 · $0.00
Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy: The Major NovelsFyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy154h 47m$135 · $0.00
Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Complete Works (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky271h 33m$2 · $0.00
The Crocodile (Classic Unabridged Edition) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky3h 9m$2 · $0.00
Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Memoirs, Letters and Autobiographical Works (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky40h 55m$2 · $0.00
Complete Novels of Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky225h 57m$2 · $0.00
Short Stories (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky10h 16m$2 · $0.00
Another Man's Wife And A Husband Under The Bed (Unabridged) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky3h 32m$2 · $0.00
PelaajaFyodor Dostoyevsky5h$2 · $0.00
Notes from the UndergroundFyodor Dostoyevsky5h 45m$1 · $0.00
Uncle's Dream; and The Permanent HusbandFyodor Dostoyevsky12h 6m$2 · $0.00
El crimen y el castigoFyodor Dostoyevsky22h 15m$1 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m$15 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m$26 · $0.00
The Complete Chronicles of Barsetshire: (The Warden + Barchester Towers + Doctor Thorne + Framley Parsonage + The Small House at Allington + The Last Chronicle of Barset) (Annotated)Anthony Trollope141h 33m$2 · $0.00
Santa's HusbandDaniel Kibblesmith, A P. Quach5m$4 · $0.00
The Facts of MidlifeRobyn Peterman4h 49m$15
Chaos in a CoupeDivya Dugar9h 18m$18 · $0.00
The Life of DaiDai Henwood, Jaquie Brown8h 2m$26 · $0.00
Poems of ParentingLoryn Brantz42m4.0 (1)$9 · $0.00
The Complete Novels of Mark Twain (Illustrated) (Annotated)Mark Twain154h 22m$2 · $0.00
What If? 10th Anniversary EditionRandall Munroe7h 29m$23
Welcome to PawneeJim O'Heir6h 24m$24 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett13h 36m$33 · $0.00
Woman UninterruptedBrodie Kane7h 1m$24 · $0.00
1984 & Animal Farm (Annotated)George Orwell15h 54m$3 · $0.00
Kingsblood Royal (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis14h 42m$2 · $0.00
Hot Cowgirl Sh*tLacie Evans2h 15m$15
This Is Going to HurtAdam Kay5h 47m$24 · $0.00
MAKE WAY FOR LUCIA - Complete Mapp and Lucia Series (6 Novels & 2 Short Stories)E. F. Benson60h 25m$1 · $0.00
You Will Get Through This NightDaniel Howell6h 56m$24 · $0.00
Northanger Abbey (Annotated)Jane Austen10h 7m$2 · $0.00
Under His ProtectionB. Love5h 7m$15
Heart of IronC. M. Alongi15h 24m$30
Ethic IIAshley Antoinette9h 1m$20
RiversnowTess Thompson8h 11m$20
Supreme ClienteleAshley & JaQuavis8h 58m$20
Body Refinement in a Beast Tamer’s World, Book 1Seth Ring14h 7m$27
The Complete Works of Jane Austen (Unabridged)Jane Austen88h 8m5.0 (1)$1 · $0.00
Desperate MeasuresBrenda Jackson8h 59m5.0 (1)$28 · $0.00
Searching For ThanksgivingS.E. Smith4h 24m$20
Naughty 4Brenda Hampton7h 30m$17
The Dance with Me TrilogyShelley Shepard Gray21h 44m$35
Anne Shirley (Complete 14 Book Collection)Lucy Maud Montgomery125h 28m$2 · $0.00
The DopemanJaQuavis Coleman5h 25m$20
Sherlock Holmes: The Ultimate CollectionArthur Conan Doyle59h 49m$5 · $0.00
Dark RisingJeffrey Wilson, Brian Andrews13h 47m$27
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.5 (22)$29 · $0.00
Grand Opening 2Carl Weber9h 16m$20
Sons of Valor II: Violence of ActionBrian Andrews, Jeffrey Wilson12h 34m$23
Malevolent MagicMildred Abbott7h 13m$17
Bikes, Toys, and Hot BoyzGenesis Woods, Shantaé13h 9m$23
You may also like
The Crocodile (Classic Unabridged Edition) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky3h 9m$2 · $0.00
The CrocodileFyodor Dostoyevsky2h 58m$2 · $0.00
The Benefits of Farting Explained & A Modest ProposalJonathan Swift1h 41m$1 · $0.00
The Present State of WitJohn Gay, Abel Boyer1h 14m$2 · $0.00
The Roycroft Dictionary, Concocted by Ali Baba and the Bunch on Rainy DaysElbert Hubbard1h 58m$2 · $0.00
A Modest Proposal + The Benefits of Farting Explained (Annotated)Jonathan Swift1h 58m$2 · $0.00
Saki: Collected WorksSaki, H. H. Munro52h 38m$2 · $0.00
A Satire AnthologyCarolyn Wells9h 37m$2.30
Comic History of EnglandBill Nye3h 45m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of SakiSaki, H. H. Munro52h 37m$2 · $0.00
Comic ArithmeticPercival Leigh2h 44m$2 · $0.00
The Man Who Knew Coolidge (Summarized Edition)Sinclair Lewis2h 21m$1
The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers, Series 3R. H. Newell7h 54m$2 · $0.00
The CurriculumStanley Bing10h 17m$29 · $0.00
A Political RomanceLaurence Sterne1h 49m$2 · $0.00
The Benefits of Farting Explained + A Modest Proposal (Annotated)Jonathan Swift1h 57m$2 · $0.00
The barber's chair; and, The hedgehog lettersDouglas William Jerrold8h 19m$2 · $0.00
A Select PartyNathaniel Hawthorne1h 49m$2 · $0.00
Bill Nye's SparksBill Nye3h 45m$2.30
An Unpleasant Predicament: A Nasty Story (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky3h 56m$2 · $0.00