num_pages: 449
description: Typical targets of Zoshchenko's satire are the Soviet bureaucracy, crowded conditions in communal apartments, marital infidelities and the rapid turnover in marriage partners, and "the petty-bourgeois mode of life, with its adulterous episodes, lying, and similar nonsense." His devices are farcical complications, satiric understatement, humorous anachronisms, and an ironic contrast between high-flown sentiments and the down-to-earth reality of mercenary instincts.Zoshchenko's sharp and original satire offers a marvelous window on Russian life in the 20s and 30s.
language: English
title: Nervous People and Other Satires
titlecomplete: Nervous People and Other Satires
genres: 20th Century, Literature, Classics, Literary Fiction, Novels, Russian Literature, Russia, Fiction, Short Stories, Humor
ratings_count: 718
publisher: Indiana University Press