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The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Narrated by: Walter Zimmerman
Length: 1 hr and 1 min
Categories: Classics, European Literature
4 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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Editorial Reviews

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s penultimate serial plays like a super-concentrated version of his most famous works from the 1860s and '70s. The story follows a man perhaps even more brooding, deranged, and paranoid than Dostoevsky’s most famous anti-heroes, a man who’s very thoughts are so numerous and twisted that they seem to nullify him, rendering his life meaningless. On his way to kill himself, the ridiculous man is struck by a chance encounter with a young girl, which in turn prompts a life-altering vision of paradise. Performer Walter Zimmerman’s fluid, deliberate style brings clarity and tempo to the labyrinthine psychoanalytics for which Dostoevsky is famous. Through his tortuously absurd protagonist, the author’s telltale meditations on utopia, nihilism, and spirituality are all expounded to satirically outrageous conclusions.

Publisher's Summary

Dostoevsky is primarily known for his monumental works like Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov. However, he also wrote many excellent shorter works that embody the same exploration of human psychology on a smaller scale.

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is one of his best short pieces. No less a writer than Virginia Woolf says of Dostoevsky, "Out of Shakespeare there is no more exciting reading."
Public Domain (P)1987 Jimcin Recordings

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Jeremy
  • Jeremy
  • 09-01-2009

Inspiring

Not perfect, but well written and well thought out. If you like Dostoevsky, you'll like this.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • James
  • 27-08-2012

An Alternative to This Narration

Any additional comments?

I'm sorry to say I couldn't enjoy Walter Zimmerman's narration. I've found this same story in a small, inexpensive collection of Dostoyevsky short stories called "A Disgraceful Affair." Since it isn't obvoius which stories that collection contains (odd to me, since Dream of a Ridiculous Man is pretty famous and I'd think the collection would sell better if they'd put it up front), I thought I'd come here and recommend that one as an alternative.The narrators for that collection are Michael Page and Kirby Heyborne, and I'm not sure which reads Dream of a Ridiculous Man. The performance there is a bit more manic than the voice I "hear" when I read Dostoyevsky, but it's a worthy intepretation.Anyway, if you want to give a different narrator a shot at this great story, punch "A Disgraceful Affair" into the search engine. I don't know the other stories it contains except the very early one called "White Nights," which is also lovely.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Rex Michael Dillon
  • 10-05-2019

Not the greatest telling

Although this is one of my favorite Dostoevsky short stories, this translation and the telling felt a bit stiff. This story is best read or told as one of those conversations you have on rare occasions when you are both trapped waiting. The reader doesn't share the urgency and conviction that Dostoevsky was trying to convey.

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  • Marty
  • 07-05-2019

Expected to be Wowed.

An article I read had referenced this book and it sounded good. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of purpose and it reminded me of the 1960 movie "The Time Machine".

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Gambit
  • Gambit
  • 13-09-2016

The story was great

The story was great the narrator not so
much... I suggest listening to the story but looking for a different narrator

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Profile Image for Mark
  • Mark
  • 04-07-2014

Dostoyevsky Gem

Any additional comments?

What a wonderful, challenging, philosophical, fantastical short story by Dostoyevsky. The narrator is very clear and well-paced. Audio quality is OK.

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Profile Image for Jeb
  • Jeb
  • 19-03-2012

Incredibly imaginative

Dostoevsky's gift as a story-teller is on display in "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man". Zimmerman is ideal for narrating FD.

  • Overall
    out of 5 stars
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  • M. M.
  • 16-03-2010

great book but....

Walter Zimmerman is terrible...

1 of 7 people found this review helpful