A review by soavezefiretto
The Summer Guest: A Novel of Chekhov by Alison Anderson

3.0

I enjoyed this very much, even though I haven't even read very much of Chekhov. It is, indeed, the perfect novel to read in the summer, if genteel nineteenth century ukranian families, muted love, some family melodrama, witty conversations and some deep thoughts about life and death are your thing. Without spoiling too much, I could have done without the literary meta-plot and the final "revelation", perhaps meant to elicit compassion, but it only irrated me. It didn't taint my enjoyment of the book, though. I really do wish Chekhov had written that novel, though, it's so hard for me to read short stories...