Short Stories by Anton Chekhov

A timeless observation of the human condition from one of the best story writers in the history of world literature. Chekhov's characteristic mix of humour and poignancy united by the themes of truth, freedom, happiness and love in the 14 story collection presented in this book. Chekhov himself described his work as comic satire: 'All I wanted was to say honestly to people: 'Have a look at yourselves and see how bad and dreary your lives are!' The important thing is that people should realize that, for when they do, they will most certainly create another and better life for themselves. I will not live to see it, but I know that it will be quite different, quite unlike our present life.' 'Happiness does not exist and should not exist. And if there is purpose in life, this purpose should not be our personal happiness, it should be about something more intelligent, something more divine', commented Leo Tolstoy after reading Chekhov's trilogy included in this book. Where does love come from? How far questions of personal happiness are of consequence in love? Each story in this collection brings us close Chekhov's vision and understanding of complex human relationships. Chekhov's own relationship with Miss Avilova formed the basis for his story About Love. Miss Avilova compared Chekhov with 'busy bee who flies about and is happy to collect honey from just about anything on its way' upon publication of this story and Chekhov quickly responded to Miss Avilova, 'You are being unkind towards your busy bee. The bee first sees bright beautiful flowers and only then collects honey from them'.

ISBN 1907832033   DEWEY edition DC23 ISBN13 9781907832031 (What's this?)   Pages 130 Publisher Max Bollinger   Weight (grammes) 180 Imprint Sovereign   Published in London Format Paperback   Height (mm) 203 Publication date 28 Feb 2011   Width (mm) 133 Illustrator Max Bollinger   Spine width (mm) 7 Translator Constance Garnett   Academic level General DEWEY 891.733

01 A Tragic Actor; 02 In A Strange Land; 03 Oh! The Public; 04 The Looking Glass; 05 Her Husband; 06 Talent; 07 Anyuta; 08 The Helpmate; 09 Ivan Matveyich; 10 Polinka; 11 Overdoing It; 12 About Truth; 13 About Freedom; 14 About Love;

I can't help but feel, Max Bollinger has picked these stories direct from his soul. His introduction to this book uncovers the essence of how important Chekhov has been to him since a young lad growing up in Russia. Garnett's translation, I think also, adds to the period authenticity of Chekhov's work and may be as close in meaning to stories as we will ever get to in English. Stephen Dunne, Australia The early stories of Anton Chekhov in this volume are obvious early works done by a master storyteller. They are sometimes simple sketches of characters which in a few pages illustrates their humanity, their strengths and weaknesses. All of the stories have been available in audiobook format, but for me reading them for myself is very gratifying. Chekhov has a grasp on the human condition and in the last three stories of the book he shows the promise that would be fulfilled with his famous stories, plays and novels. Joseph Belliveau, Canada Short Stories by Anton Chekhov as translated by Constance Garnett and edited by Max Bollinger provides the text to the fourteen stories on the Audio CD's 1 to 3 of Chekhov's Short Stories as very ably narrated by Max Bollinger. My favourite stories in this collection are The Helpmate and About Truth both of which are very witty. Alan Moreton, UK

 Be the first to write a customer review