The Dream of a Ridiculous Man Audiobook By Fyodor Dostoevsky cover art

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

 Preview
Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends January 29, 2026 11:59pm PT
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just $0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible Premium Plus.
1 audiobook per month of your choice from our unparalleled catalog.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can listen catalog of 150K+ audiobooks and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Narrated by: Walter Zimmerman
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends January 21, 2026 11:59pm PT.

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $10.18

Buy for $10.18

LIMITED TIME OFFER | Get 3 months for $0.99 a month

$14.95/mo thereafter-terms apply.
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 Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

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.

People who viewed this also viewed...

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man Audiobook By Fyodor Dostoyevsky cover art
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man By: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Philosophical Depth • Challenging Themes • Clear Narration • Theological Truth • Fantastical Elements

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
Good Dostoevsky story that raises lots of issues about life and dreams. Solid narrator.

Intellectually challenging

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story was great the narrator not so
much... I suggest listening to the story but looking for a different narrator

The story was great

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

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.

Dostoyevsky Gem

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.

Not the greatest telling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Dostoevsky's gift as a story-teller is on display in "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man". Zimmerman is ideal for narrating FD.

Incredibly imaginative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews