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The Complete Stories of Anton Chekhov, Vol. 1: 1882-1885
A Russian author, playwright, and physician, Anton Chekhov is widely considered one of the best short-story writers of all time. Here, Blackstone has compiled forty-one of his delightful short stories.
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Published January 1, 2012
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About the author
Anton Chekhov
5,890 books9,756 followersDramas, 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 17, 2018
The Collected Short Stories of Anton Chekhov, Volume 1
My friend George invited me to read Chekhov with him this year, and I sort of began, in a scattered way, reading a story here and there. I had read a lot of them, in anthologies, many years ago, but maybe never a whole collection. But he’s The Master, or at least, he’s certainly in the top ten, one of the very shapers of the modern short story. So, I decided to read all of them this summer. Then I saw he published more than 200 stories, gulp. So I thought, be realistic, listen to this volume, then find the ones you love in print (they are all free online). So I did that.
This volume of 41 stories is arranged chronologically, stories published in 1882-85 when he was just starting out, his very first stories, almost none of them making the multiple Best Short Stories of Anton Chekhov collections, but I didn’t know that until after I had finished reading it. But I still really enjoyed it, and now anticipate liking later collections even more. I might just do the 57 (shudder!) stories of the second Collected Stories next, then break down and read one of those Best Of collections. We’ll see.
So what is a “Chekhov” story, after listening to 41 and reading ten of them online afterwards, none of them I had maybe ever read before? I would say there isn’t a form he fixed on. He was learning his craft, trying everything, short (as in portraits, short shorts maybe a page or so long) and long (there are novellas here). He isn’t wedded to the well-shaped short story, though he did write them, even early on; he was inventing a form. He wrote character sketches, portraiture, anecdotes, vignettes, “traditionally” shaped short stories, novellas, prose poems. Sometimes they are funny, sometimes sad, sometimes both. Some are dialogue central, sometimes more descriptive, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but never mean, only humane and slightly bemused: “There’s something good in everyone.”
A couple favorites:
“A Living Chattel”—the first one, a novella in three parts, a completely engaging story of a love triangle between Liza and Groholsky and Bugrov. Groholsky has finally found the woman he cannot live without, who just happens to be is married to Bugrov, who catches them in their indiscretion. This is not new—seeing other men—for Liza, but Bugrov loves her:
Bugrov: “Liza,I forgive you this fifth time, but will not forgive you a sixth.”
And why? [Bugrov to Liza] “Love your husband! You have been given to your husband, so you must love him.”
Bugrov accepts money from Groholsky three different times to get Bugrov to back off in his insistence that he is the rightful “owner” of his lawfully married “chattel” (Liza), who seems pretty passive about things until at one point she says she wants to go back to Bugrov. When this happens, Groholsky falls apart and Bugrov allows him to move in with them. (!) Not as accomplished as Chekhov would be, but thoroughly entertaining.
“Joy” focuses on the "joy" experienced by Mitya Kuldarov, a young clerk living at home with his parents and sister, as he announces his name has been published in the paper! Imagine! A lowly clerk, of the working class, a young man, and he’s mentioned in the paper, in a couple lines. He insists his father read it aloud, and exults as the account names him as a man who walked out of a bar, drunk, and gets knocked down by a horse, basically not badly harmed. His “joy” contrasts with the confusion and shame experienced by his parents and sister. It’s just fun. A kind of joke, really. Recalls our present obsession with “fifteen minutes of fame” via social media?
“Fat and Thin” is a story of two old friends from primary school who talk animatedly about the old days until one discovers the other has become quite successful and his tone suddenly becomes deferential and humble, to the successful one’s irritation. A class-based dialogue piece.
“A Tragic Actor” is about an actor who lives as he acts, with melodrama, but in going to the theater for the first time, a young woman falls in love with his affectations. Not surprisingly, he is not really in love with her. Not original, but solid.
“Oysters” is about a father who has moved to the city and hasn’t enough money to feed himself and his son. They sit down at a restaurant table, though, and the son sees a sign for oysters. He begins asking for them, never having had one. He eats one—or tries, including the shell, and people laugh at him. He has to go to the hospital, where the last image is of the father, wildly gesticulating and muttering to himself. Melodrama? Or tragic farce? But how will they survive? Our heart aches for this kid and his Dad.
.
“Malingerers” is a story about Dr. Chekhov’s (yeah, he was also a doctor!) view of homeopathy, through the story of a woman who claims she is healed with sugar pills.
“Old Age” is about a successful architect who goes back to the town where he divorced his first wife, who afterwards became dissolute, drunk, debauched. He has regrets, but finally thinks it is too late for tears. But we don’t quite agree with his cool assessment. This is maybe the most developed and affecting of the early stories:
Here it is, if you are at all curious:
http://www.online-literature.com/anto...
These were fun to listen to, entertaining. Not always that substantial, but he is going for different effects, trying to do more with less. Hemingway read them and I think in his early stories was very shaped by them, their enigmas, their lack of commentary. Mikhail Bakhtin said that the novel can function as a kind of cultural forum. In this collection we see the rich and poor, the grieving and joyous and absurd. Sweet.
My friend George invited me to read Chekhov with him this year, and I sort of began, in a scattered way, reading a story here and there. I had read a lot of them, in anthologies, many years ago, but maybe never a whole collection. But he’s The Master, or at least, he’s certainly in the top ten, one of the very shapers of the modern short story. So, I decided to read all of them this summer. Then I saw he published more than 200 stories, gulp. So I thought, be realistic, listen to this volume, then find the ones you love in print (they are all free online). So I did that.
This volume of 41 stories is arranged chronologically, stories published in 1882-85 when he was just starting out, his very first stories, almost none of them making the multiple Best Short Stories of Anton Chekhov collections, but I didn’t know that until after I had finished reading it. But I still really enjoyed it, and now anticipate liking later collections even more. I might just do the 57 (shudder!) stories of the second Collected Stories next, then break down and read one of those Best Of collections. We’ll see.
So what is a “Chekhov” story, after listening to 41 and reading ten of them online afterwards, none of them I had maybe ever read before? I would say there isn’t a form he fixed on. He was learning his craft, trying everything, short (as in portraits, short shorts maybe a page or so long) and long (there are novellas here). He isn’t wedded to the well-shaped short story, though he did write them, even early on; he was inventing a form. He wrote character sketches, portraiture, anecdotes, vignettes, “traditionally” shaped short stories, novellas, prose poems. Sometimes they are funny, sometimes sad, sometimes both. Some are dialogue central, sometimes more descriptive, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but never mean, only humane and slightly bemused: “There’s something good in everyone.”
A couple favorites:
“A Living Chattel”—the first one, a novella in three parts, a completely engaging story of a love triangle between Liza and Groholsky and Bugrov. Groholsky has finally found the woman he cannot live without, who just happens to be is married to Bugrov, who catches them in their indiscretion. This is not new—seeing other men—for Liza, but Bugrov loves her:
Bugrov: “Liza,I forgive you this fifth time, but will not forgive you a sixth.”
And why? [Bugrov to Liza] “Love your husband! You have been given to your husband, so you must love him.”
Bugrov accepts money from Groholsky three different times to get Bugrov to back off in his insistence that he is the rightful “owner” of his lawfully married “chattel” (Liza), who seems pretty passive about things until at one point she says she wants to go back to Bugrov. When this happens, Groholsky falls apart and Bugrov allows him to move in with them. (!) Not as accomplished as Chekhov would be, but thoroughly entertaining.
“Joy” focuses on the "joy" experienced by Mitya Kuldarov, a young clerk living at home with his parents and sister, as he announces his name has been published in the paper! Imagine! A lowly clerk, of the working class, a young man, and he’s mentioned in the paper, in a couple lines. He insists his father read it aloud, and exults as the account names him as a man who walked out of a bar, drunk, and gets knocked down by a horse, basically not badly harmed. His “joy” contrasts with the confusion and shame experienced by his parents and sister. It’s just fun. A kind of joke, really. Recalls our present obsession with “fifteen minutes of fame” via social media?
“Fat and Thin” is a story of two old friends from primary school who talk animatedly about the old days until one discovers the other has become quite successful and his tone suddenly becomes deferential and humble, to the successful one’s irritation. A class-based dialogue piece.
“A Tragic Actor” is about an actor who lives as he acts, with melodrama, but in going to the theater for the first time, a young woman falls in love with his affectations. Not surprisingly, he is not really in love with her. Not original, but solid.
“Oysters” is about a father who has moved to the city and hasn’t enough money to feed himself and his son. They sit down at a restaurant table, though, and the son sees a sign for oysters. He begins asking for them, never having had one. He eats one—or tries, including the shell, and people laugh at him. He has to go to the hospital, where the last image is of the father, wildly gesticulating and muttering to himself. Melodrama? Or tragic farce? But how will they survive? Our heart aches for this kid and his Dad.
.
“Malingerers” is a story about Dr. Chekhov’s (yeah, he was also a doctor!) view of homeopathy, through the story of a woman who claims she is healed with sugar pills.
“Old Age” is about a successful architect who goes back to the town where he divorced his first wife, who afterwards became dissolute, drunk, debauched. He has regrets, but finally thinks it is too late for tears. But we don’t quite agree with his cool assessment. This is maybe the most developed and affecting of the early stories:
Here it is, if you are at all curious:
http://www.online-literature.com/anto...
These were fun to listen to, entertaining. Not always that substantial, but he is going for different effects, trying to do more with less. Hemingway read them and I think in his early stories was very shaped by them, their enigmas, their lack of commentary. Mikhail Bakhtin said that the novel can function as a kind of cultural forum. In this collection we see the rich and poor, the grieving and joyous and absurd. Sweet.
April 12, 2019
Each tale is a well-polished gemstone.
September 11, 2023
Author has a dope first name, can kinda write good too
July 24, 2025
I feel extremely grateful that I had no idea how lovely and sophisticated Chekhov's short stories were and that I was fortunate enough to discover them at this point in my life.
Each chapter is akin to walking along a bustling street and looking into each of the windows of the houses and every time you encounter someone, you are given a look into their character and conversation.
There were too many excellent stories to choose a favorite. Chekhov is the master of the short story.
Each chapter is akin to walking along a bustling street and looking into each of the windows of the houses and every time you encounter someone, you are given a look into their character and conversation.
There were too many excellent stories to choose a favorite. Chekhov is the master of the short story.
January 24, 2014
If you're an aspiring writer this collection could act like a source book for exceptionally well-drawn, character-based fiction. The stories are flawless and Chekhov is completely in control, regardless of the length and tone of the individual story.
Like Shakespeare, Chekhov has an intuitive understanding, not just of the psychological make up of a variety of people from all levels of society, but also the way that geography and setting (two different things in my opinion) affects the psyche and the decision making of his characters. He is an expert at dialog and at portraying those very difficult moments that occur in conversations and in silences where the mood changes slightly, as if for no obvious reason. The resulting stories are rich and vibrant, truly heteroglossic and, above all, gripping.
Another Shakespeare-like characteristic of Chekhov's style is that he manages all of this mastery while at the same time staying hidden as the author and while not inserting anything of himself into the stories. There is none of the preaching that the mawkish and reliogiose Dostoyevsky would feel the need to insert, and this sets Chekhov apart and above most, if not all, of the great Russian writers, in my opinion.
You can't go wrong with this collection; whether it's read for pleasure or to study a great master at work it's the absolute pinnacle of the form.
Like Shakespeare, Chekhov has an intuitive understanding, not just of the psychological make up of a variety of people from all levels of society, but also the way that geography and setting (two different things in my opinion) affects the psyche and the decision making of his characters. He is an expert at dialog and at portraying those very difficult moments that occur in conversations and in silences where the mood changes slightly, as if for no obvious reason. The resulting stories are rich and vibrant, truly heteroglossic and, above all, gripping.
Another Shakespeare-like characteristic of Chekhov's style is that he manages all of this mastery while at the same time staying hidden as the author and while not inserting anything of himself into the stories. There is none of the preaching that the mawkish and reliogiose Dostoyevsky would feel the need to insert, and this sets Chekhov apart and above most, if not all, of the great Russian writers, in my opinion.
You can't go wrong with this collection; whether it's read for pleasure or to study a great master at work it's the absolute pinnacle of the form.
June 9, 2018
Listening to these stories one after another in a collection like this made me wonder - is this an inner picture of the things that preoccupied Chekhov's personal life? He wrote about people's fears coming true - how they almost made them come true - how people's expectations were continually confounded, how they made decisions based on wrong information, how their timing was off, how they discovered their actions affected other people, how they despised their spouses and cast them off only to discover later that they were their only reason for living. Every story seemed a version of the theme of Ecclesiastes where everything is vanity - smoke - illusory, and how we expect things to be and go, does not happen. Human nature plays a strong part - people are proud, jealous, greedy... And interesting! It should have been depressing, but it was so insightful and true-to-life that I couldn't look away. I'm going to have to read volume 2 of the collection just to see what else Chekhov observes, and if he finds any saving graces in humanity at all.
June 21, 2024
They’re all well-written but many of these earlier stories were mostly character sketches and don’t feel like complete stories so I would recommend skipping to volume two. For early stuff though his prose is perfect
September 5, 2020
Chekhov is either the most accessable author of Russian literature I've read so far or I've finally read enough Rus Lit not to feel half confused all the time.
April 14, 2021
First, I must say that I never really was a huge fan of short stories. I always felt as if it was required school reading. Since I got Audible I have listened to a few short story collections and have warmed up to short stories. I broke this into two because it was just so many stories.
There are so many characters in this collection that could be fleshed out into plays and books. They feel as if they have a life beyond the story. They are so typically Russian which I have always enjoyed. This did not disappoint one bit. I loved the narration which felt classic and fitting.
Someday I'll get some more Chekhov, stories or plays. I had never really read his works and may have seen just a movie or two of his plays.
There are so many characters in this collection that could be fleshed out into plays and books. They feel as if they have a life beyond the story. They are so typically Russian which I have always enjoyed. This did not disappoint one bit. I loved the narration which felt classic and fitting.
Someday I'll get some more Chekhov, stories or plays. I had never really read his works and may have seen just a movie or two of his plays.
October 15, 2024
This is a fine collection of short fiction by Anton Chekhov. The author is a master of drama, and his stories reflect that art.
March 21, 2018
Chekhov's been on my list for years and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading him. While these stories all have engaging plots—some among the most engaging I've encountered in short fiction—it seems Chekhov's two greatest talents are for sketching characters and playing with irony. Each of these narratives is full of people you feel you get to know as well in a few pages as you would in a whole lifetime. He's so great at distilling the most essential and paradoxical parts of the human condition into hyper-focused examples and scenarios. Sometimes, this comes through tragically, but more often than not, it's funny as hell. I hadn't really heard from anyone that Chekhov was this humorous, but I found myself laughing out loud a ton. Some of these stories are outright masterpieces, and all of them are terrific..
May 1, 2022
Very good stories that Chekhov wrote early in his career. There are repeating themes of cowards, hypocrites, and general assholes who easily reveal themselves.
Took me a long time to get through this collection!
Took me a long time to get through this collection!
July 31, 2014
a master class in short form narrative. anthony heald's audio performance breathes amazing life into each little tale.
January 10, 2023
my first taste of chekhov in print. i had seen a couple of his plays, but these somehow touched me more. the characters, en masse, offer such a vivid picture of humanity. little is admirable but i found myself repeatedly feeling sympathy, empathy, understanding even if not forgiveness. as a reader i am not skilled enough to see just how he achieves this, although i am sure his experience as a doctor must have offered him great source material.
some of my favourites were those on the difficulties of love: 'the living chattel', 'old age', 'the huntsman', 'the cook's wedding' - that's an area where we are surely at our best and worst, or at least most irrational. but there is plenty on other aspects of pride, ambition, shame, fear, guile and stupidity. i also loved 'the fish'. comparing it to william faulkner's own great hunting short story/novelette 'the bear' is instructive about checkhov's deep sense of humour/faulkner's lack.
fortunately, i was reading orlando figes's 'the people's tragedy', a history of the 1917 revolution, at the same time. each strengthened the effect of the other. one small point struck me: historians often analyse the cool calculus of their protagonists, even when this is wrong or optimistic. but chekhov reminds us how often decisions will be affected by distraction, personal feelings and alcohol.
some of my favourites were those on the difficulties of love: 'the living chattel', 'old age', 'the huntsman', 'the cook's wedding' - that's an area where we are surely at our best and worst, or at least most irrational. but there is plenty on other aspects of pride, ambition, shame, fear, guile and stupidity. i also loved 'the fish'. comparing it to william faulkner's own great hunting short story/novelette 'the bear' is instructive about checkhov's deep sense of humour/faulkner's lack.
fortunately, i was reading orlando figes's 'the people's tragedy', a history of the 1917 revolution, at the same time. each strengthened the effect of the other. one small point struck me: historians often analyse the cool calculus of their protagonists, even when this is wrong or optimistic. but chekhov reminds us how often decisions will be affected by distraction, personal feelings and alcohol.
October 18, 2023
A collection of timeless Russian tales
In Amor Towles' celebrated book ' a gentleman in Moscow'', there are very interesting discussions about the greatest contributions of Russia to the world. They are reasoned to be Leo Tolstoy, Nutcracker, 1812 fire of moscow and Anton Chekov! After completing this collection of Chekov's short stories, I wholeheartedly agree with his inclusion in the above mentioned list.
Writing a good short story requires a lot of skill. You don't get time for character arcs or world-building like in a long novel. Still you have to get the reader interested in the premise quickly.
This collection has a diverse range of stories. In one story Chekov describes coercive corruption in a govt office as the clerk refuses to entertain a citizen's enquiry without getting 3 rouble. But in another story, he describes the difficulty faced by a well meaning ticket inspector to enforce rules in his duty. There are also stories about husband - wife relationship, doctor - patient relationship, barber - client relationship, reunited old friends to name a few.
Some stories are really short. These stories were written 140 years ago and still their observations about human nature are relevant even today. Therein lies the greatness.
In Amor Towles' celebrated book ' a gentleman in Moscow'', there are very interesting discussions about the greatest contributions of Russia to the world. They are reasoned to be Leo Tolstoy, Nutcracker, 1812 fire of moscow and Anton Chekov! After completing this collection of Chekov's short stories, I wholeheartedly agree with his inclusion in the above mentioned list.
Writing a good short story requires a lot of skill. You don't get time for character arcs or world-building like in a long novel. Still you have to get the reader interested in the premise quickly.
This collection has a diverse range of stories. In one story Chekov describes coercive corruption in a govt office as the clerk refuses to entertain a citizen's enquiry without getting 3 rouble. But in another story, he describes the difficulty faced by a well meaning ticket inspector to enforce rules in his duty. There are also stories about husband - wife relationship, doctor - patient relationship, barber - client relationship, reunited old friends to name a few.
Some stories are really short. These stories were written 140 years ago and still their observations about human nature are relevant even today. Therein lies the greatness.
February 1, 2024
This is only Volume I of the Complete Stories of Anton Chekhov, but it's 41 of his stories, so it's pretty representative! I liked that some stories focused on people from different backgrounds and of different social status, and stories fluctuated in length, so they were able to focus on different elements of the human experience and go into various amount of detail.
Some are more memorable and impactful than others, but overall these are pretty good. I don't think there is a single story that misses its mark or doesn't make sense. Anton Chekhov has been on my to read list for a while, and I'm really glad I read this. The themes of class, family and personal relationships, and how animal behavior reflects human behavior were particularly striking.
Some are more memorable and impactful than others, but overall these are pretty good. I don't think there is a single story that misses its mark or doesn't make sense. Anton Chekhov has been on my to read list for a while, and I'm really glad I read this. The themes of class, family and personal relationships, and how animal behavior reflects human behavior were particularly striking.
April 4, 2021
The first story in this volume is about 75 minutes long on the audiobook, but nearly all the rest are on the order of 5-10 minutes. To me, most of these shorter stories are not even stories, they are just vignettes with a description of some situation. Chekhov certainly excels at giving very vivid and engaging descriptions, but for my overall enjoyment of reading stories, I like more story than most of these give. It feels to me that the author gives just enough story to start to the get the readers hooked, and then quits. What happened next?! I found myself saying over and over. But alas, the reader never finds out.
September 12, 2023
This collection starts with a novella, then continues with 40 (!) more very short stories. I love the rapid fire format because the stories feel light and straightforward. Each story adds to a mosaic-style cross section of 1880s Russia.
Chekhov writes about realistic settings with a bit of humorous caricature. He has an amazing way of introducing characters, giving details of their social status, appearance, or temperament in the first sentence that set the whole scene.
You’ll find all the Russian literature tropes in this collection — peasants, drunkenness, bureaucracy, corruption, etc. — but the full picture has nuance and personal touch. I started out expecting social commentary or political critique, but found it to be more about everyday people instead. That seems to be where Chehov’s passion lies, and it explains why his writing has endured to modern times.
Chekhov writes about realistic settings with a bit of humorous caricature. He has an amazing way of introducing characters, giving details of their social status, appearance, or temperament in the first sentence that set the whole scene.
You’ll find all the Russian literature tropes in this collection — peasants, drunkenness, bureaucracy, corruption, etc. — but the full picture has nuance and personal touch. I started out expecting social commentary or political critique, but found it to be more about everyday people instead. That seems to be where Chehov’s passion lies, and it explains why his writing has endured to modern times.
July 9, 2023
Some of the stories kinda blur together, but Chekhov seemed to really know what he was doing right out of the gate. He could make a character stick in just a few sentences. I'll have committed to memory the little boy in "Oysters" discovering and experiencing the animal for the first time, or "Malingerers," where a doctor everyone loves realizes that yeah, they're sucking up before asking for big favors.
August 1, 2021
I prefer his plays. A few of the stories engaged me, but most were disappointing. I think the fact that they often mocked the culture of the time--and I'm looking at from over a century later--impacted my reaction. I prefer his plays.
August 10, 2021
Masterful invention of the short story read as audiobook bu a talented performer… The problem is - there is not wnough silence at the end of chapters ans rhe reader is soo good at performing that it doesn’t feel like a reading but theatre.
January 2, 2022
I love this guy! My new favorite 19th century Russian author. These rich slices of human experience are delightful. My favorite stories are the ones that highlight the fluidity of human principles. So great.
May 8, 2023
Seemingly normal stories that have a charm to them that I can feel but not elucidate. I found myself being taken through a range of emotions - joy, sorrow, loss, laugh, plus many more. Highly enjoyable.
August 12, 2021
Listening to the audio Version on Audible. The narration by Anthony Heald is everything and more...
Delightful set of stories. Most are just snippets, but entertaining nonetheless. I don't know that I could have enjoyed this collection as much if I was reading it;the superb characterization and dialects by Anthony Heald made the production come alive. 4* for the stories and 5* for the narration.
Delightful set of stories. Most are just snippets, but entertaining nonetheless. I don't know that I could have enjoyed this collection as much if I was reading it;the superb characterization and dialects by Anthony Heald made the production come alive. 4* for the stories and 5* for the narration.
October 26, 2022
I enjoyed this collection - some I liked and others I really liked.
November 8, 2022
I loved most of these stories. Some are quite hilarious. Highly recommend.
March 1, 2024
Delightful, well polished stories. I've read this book before but did not recall the story "A Dead Body", which has now been added to my list of favorites. Witty and relatable even 100+ years later.
Read
May 7, 2024DNF, think I just wasn’t in the right mind space for it. Might come back to it in the future
July 3, 2025
The short stories require close attention, because they are very short. The translation has British tones, and makes it hard to follow
December 29, 2020
Some very nice stories in this one!
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