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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
Anton Chekhov gets me. I love him. He should have lived long enough to hang out with me and talk about death and stuff. Gone too soon. Excellent book right here.
After reading In the Cart, Gooseberries, and The Darling in George Saunders' book on short stories, I wanted more of Chekhov's short stories and turned to this collection. It did not disappoint. It contains 52 of his stories, presented in chronological order covering Chekhov's whole writing career from 1880 to 1903. This makes this collection unique, as many collections focus on certain periods of Chekhov's career given how prolific he was. That said, Chekhov certainly improved his writing with time and I don't necessarily recommend reading all the stories here or at least not reading them in chronological order. I skipped around, such that I could mix in some of his masterpieces with working through his early stories. But ultimately this book did the trick: there were so many stories that I loved (The Name-Day Party, The Student, In the Ravine, Enemies, Peasant Women, Rothschild's Violin), many that I read multiple times, and enough to make me now want to read the stories that weren't included in this collection. The critical essays at the end are a mixed bag. Some are great and insightful (such as the ones covering The Student, At Sea, Peasant Women, and the "Anna Stories"), others simply state the obvious interpretations from the story (the ones on The Bishop and Ward 6), and others are not worth your time (the one covering Lady with the Little Dog heavily cut parts of the original essay and was honestly pointless to read). In short, this collection is a great place to start if you want to read Chekhov's stories. And I sure hope you do, because I find them incredibly written and richly rewarding.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Read only three of them, Rapture, 勳章, and The Lady with the Dog. Can’t relate myself to it.
Maybe I went into this with too high of expectations. All the stories were crisp and well done.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Love anything by Chekhov! He was such a brilliant author!
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Considered to be the greatest short story writer of all time, Anton Chekhov defined this style of writing and touched upon profound philosophical insights. His main practice as a doctor during the latter half of the 19th century in Russia heavily influenced the subject of his writing and plays. A compilation of thirty of his greatest stories, Chekhov explores medicine, philosophy, class struggle, mortality, purpose, family, and humanism. My favorite stories picked in this book are In Exile, Gusev, Ward no. 6, The black monk, The House with the Mezzanine, A Medical Case, and The Fiancee. Celeste I think you would enjoy this book for its subject material.