The chronicle of the city of Glupov, where one mayor has a device with recorded scripts instead of a brain, and another's head is stuffed with truffles.
At the same time, the third writes a charter "on the unrestrainedness of mayors from laws", while the fourth dreams of making identical houses for identical people.
Fantasy, you might say? Not quite, rather grotesque. Such a device, which, like a magnifying glass with a built-in flashlight, helps the author illuminate - and the reader see - the main point. Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin, who experienced life in the capital and the provinces from all sides, did not fantasize but wrote his characters from life.
Not only the mayors but also the residents of the city of Glupov. By the way, what are the latter doing while the former are being eccentric? You'll find out in the book.