Laughing with Dostoevsky! An unusual perspective on the great classic Fyodor Dostoevsky - the epitome of existential gloom and torturous soul analysis? This collection broadens the view. Five newly translated stories reveal the Russian master in a surprisingly different, little-known light: as an author of cheerful, satirical tales. The sighting of a live crocodile seems to Ivan Matveich the perfect preparation for a trip to Europe - only to be swallowed by the monstrous creature. For no one, including the victim, is this a cause for complaint, as the attraction of a speaking person in the reptile's belly serves financial interests and vanity of all kinds. Not for money, but for his credibility as a man of reforms, State Councillor Pralinski fights. To demonstrate tolerance, he unexpectedly shows up at the high society gathering.