Reviews

The Prank: The Best of Young Chekhov by Maria Bloshteyn, Anton Chekhov

amino's review

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3.0

At first I was charmed and mesmerized and couldn't wait for the part of my day that involved winding down with a funny tale or two from Chekhov's longtime unpublished work. But the more I stretched out my reading, the less enjoyable it became and the more it felt like a chore. The last ten pages were so unbearably slow that I had to have a really good follow up prepared as motivation for me to finish. That being said, do I think his writing is fantastic? Yes - and I am forever indebted to the wonderful translator that made it possible for me and other non-Russian speaking (?) English readers to enjoy Chekhov's playful side. However, I strongly recommend condensing reading this short collection in a day or two, otherwise it starts to dilute what should be a whimsical and lighthearted journey overall.
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