Gooseberries

by Anton Chekhov

In Anton Chekhov’s haunting short story Gooseberries, a rain-soaked evening in the Russian countryside becomes the backdrop for a quietly devastating tale of comfort, delusion, and moral awakening. As Ivan Ivanovitch and his companion seek shelter in a landowner’s estate, a simple conversation unfolds into a powerful monologue about happiness, privilege, and the unseen suffering that underpins contentment.

Chekhov masterfully juxtaposes the rustic idyll of country life with a piercing reflection on the ethics of retreating from the world’s troubles.

With its melancholic beauty, quiet irony, and philosophical weight, Gooseberries is a profound meditation on the illusion of peace and the price of personal fulfillment.

Narrated with eloquent sensitivity by Ian Turrell, this classic resonates more deeply than ever in an age still divided between comfort and conscience.

Genres: Short Stories

Mass Market Paperback

Published February 26, 2015

About the author

Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.

Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.

"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.

In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.

Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.

Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.

In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.

The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.

Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against Alfred Dreyfus, his friendship with Suvorin ended

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

از شما مى پرسم صبر براى چه؟ بخاطر چه؟ بخاطر كه؟ چه فايده از انتظار وقتى كه دیگر نيرويى براى زنده ماندن باقى نمانده است و با وجود اين زندگی لازمست و مى خواهيم زنده باشيم و زندگی كنيم!

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a one way pretentiousity war w @ Kiley, your move

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic short story- profoundly human.

[Shachi (notesfromchi) · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was such an uncomfortable read. because nothing really happens but everything still feels so off. off on human level. off on society level.
all three stories in this are about people just trying to comfort themselves, whether it's through illusion, cruelty, or indifference.
how some people can invent meaning in something insignificant just to make them feel a little less lonely, how love or connection cannot redeem anyone, it's just ephemeral. and worst is how even a morally empty person can feel complete as long as their definition of success/morality/happiness is met. they don't care who pays a price for it.
these are a collection of short stories that actually have no plot, just quiet reflection on society and human morals and conundrums.
my first checkhov and it was deeply unsettling for me.

[Nils · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeless short-story classics from the GOAT (of short story writing. This selection showcases stories with themes that could equally apply to any person, any era and any country in the world - the real genius in top-notch short-story writing.

[Iulia Dorobantu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chekhov’s Gooseberries is a masterclass in subtle storytelling—bittersweet, reflective, and deeply human. In just a few pages, it challenges our idea of happiness and exposes the comfort of self-deception. A small story with a big soul.

[Ashkan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It could be tempting, the idea of running away from it all, whether you are vexed or distressed by your surroundings, to a resort; a beautiful farm as Nikolai had chose, but this was something he should had taken with a grain of salt.
This action, takes high level of commitment, thought and self-recognition, the things Nikolai failed to keep up with, and made brazen decisions out of boredom- which ended up hurting the people around him.

If one longs for a garden of gooseberries, one should understand its value and the want for the gooseberries, and maybe nothing more.

[Vazha · Rating 4 out of 5]

საშუალო სირთულის ინგლოსურით. და როგორც ყოველთვის, ჩეხოვი გლიჯავს.

[Ola Haddad · Rating 4 out of 5]

a story that lingers - dreams , happiness or selfish illusions…

[Claudio · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5