The Kiss

by Anton Chekhov

Ryabovitch is the picture of self-consciousness, clearly aware of his own awkward bearing, small stature, and unusual looks. While attending a glamorous party hosted by Lieutenant General von Rabbek, Ryabovitch avoids the other guests by wandering into a darkened room where he suddenly finds himself in the embrace of a woman who favours him with a passionate kiss. However, once the woman realizes that Ryabovitch is not the man she had been waiting for, she disappears. With the memory of that single kiss now permanently imprinted in his mind, Ryabovitch leaves the party a changed man, unaware of the powerful effect that kiss will have on his future.

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Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, Russian Literature, Russia, Romance, Literature

25 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1887

About the author

Antón Chéjov (Spanish)

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 [a:Alfred Dreyfu

Reviews

[BookHunter M ُH َM َD · Rating 3 out of 5]

عندما تختزل احلامك كلها فى لحظة واحدة و تعيش متقلبا على الجمر لا ترجو الا معاودة تلك اللحظة حتى و ان كنت تجترها اجترارا و تستدعيها دائما فى خيالك.

سيطرت اللحظة على هذا الضابط البائس فحولت واقعه إلى حلم متصل حتى انتشلته لحظة أخرى من أوهامه هى لحظة الإصطدام بالحقيقة.
لقطة أخرى بارعة من تشيكوف البارع فى اقتناص اللحظه

[Pakinam Mahmoud · Rating 3 out of 5]

القبلة ..قصة قصيرة لتشيخوف بيتكلم فيها عن مشاعر جندي خجول قبلته سيدة عن طريق الخطأ في إحدي الأمسيات..

لحظة واحدة في غرفة مظلمة مع سيدة لم يري حتي وجهها ولم يكن هو المقصود بقبلتها جعلته يحلم ..جعلته يحب الحياة ..جعلته يدرك أنه ينقصه الكثير..
وهو العمر ايه غير لحظات زي دي..؟
تشيخوف...بحبك يا عم :)

[Issa Deerbany · Rating 3 out of 5]

هذا الضابط الخجول المنكمش على نفسه، اصبح شخصا اخر بعد قبلة عن طريق الخطأ.
صدفه قادته الى مكان لتلقى هذه القبلة التي قلبت كيانه وأصبح اجتماعيا ويضحك ويجامل، اصبح يعيش في خيال فهو يتذكر كل شيء الخطوات وهفهفة الفستان ورائحة العطر والقبلة الا وجه من قبله.
وبنى عليها امالا وأصبح مغامرا وعاشقا.
هل هذا معقول

[فايز غازي Fayez Ghazi · Rating 3 out of 5]

- انتقى تشيخوف الشخص المثالي (الخجول، الإنطوائي، غير الواثق بنفسه) ووضعه صدفةً في منتصف العتمة بصحبة امرأة قبلته خطأً وجعلته بعيش على اطلال هذه القبلة ويبني احلامه عليها... لكنه في النهاية اقتنع ان كل هذا سراب في سراب..

- دقة الوصف مميزة، وهي بلا شك قد حصلت مع الجميع (بإختلاف التفاصيل والمكان والزمان، والأهم بإختلاف العمر)، والغور في الأحلام الصيفية التي تنسجها هذه التجارب الاولية في النفس البشرية اتى بتفصيل جميل...

[Heba Hssn · Rating 3 out of 5]

عن طريق الخطأ نلمس ما ينقصنا......
وتأتي نقطة التوجه إليه بتغيير نمطنا

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I like to be a cynic about love, it's pieces of writing like "The Kiss" that serve to remind me just how timeless the topic is. I've been hopping from one book to another with seemingly nothing to please my impatient head-space. Until this story came to my notice, thanks to Tavi Gevinson’s blurb in Rookie on Love (how I got to rereading my old review of Rookie is another story): “I just don’t trust words a whole lot, and wonder if writing this, too, takes the air out of the whole thing, like in the Chekhov story “The Kiss,” where the sad loner shares the story of an improbable romantic encounter with his male colleagues and, upon hearing it out loud, experiences the whole thing as woefully insignificant.”

This loner mindset sounded eerily familiar... It was all I needed to dive straight in. Truthfully, I was waiting to be disappointed like with all my previous readings. Thankfully, I was not.

This book left me in awe. My own words will fail me here so I'm opting to showcase the brilliant way this author can put words to thoughts. I felt seen, which is the one key thing I look for in books. I haven’t felt that in a while. Like, romanticizing someone you met briefly to deflect from your not-so-romantic situation? Check. Completely losing track of what they looked like and reconstructing them in your mind? Check. Realizing you have no idea how to visualize them and feel defeated? Check. Knowing full well that you’re in over your head with a simple encounter and yet still overthinking it? Check.

At first when the brigade was setting off on the march he tried to persuade himself that the incident of the kiss could only be interesting as a mysterious little adventure, that it was in reality trivial, and to think of it seriously, to say the least of it, was stupid; but now he bade farewell to logic and gave himself up to dreams. . . .

This is a gem. Thankfully, there are many capturing moments that I cherished:

Like, thinking of all the reasons you'll never see them again, but then: The "inner voice," which so often deceives lovers, whispered to him for some reason that he would be sure to see her . . . and he was tortured by the questions, How he should meet her? What he would talk to her about?

The days flowed by, one very much like another. All those days Ryabovitch felt, thought, and behaved as though he were in love. Every morning when his orderly handed him water to wash with, and he sluiced his head with cold water, he thought there was something warm and delightful in his life.

To add to the glamor of this piece, I have to share this beautiful song cover of Slow Dancing in the Dark.

Check out this gorgeous piece of writing for yourself through my Amazon Affiliate link:


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[Ola Al-Najres · Rating 4 out of 5]

لحظة بكاملها من سعادة !… رباه هل تحتاج حياة إنسان لأكثر من هذا !؟ ، ظلّتْ مقولة دوستويفسكي من الليالي البيضاء تلوح لي وأنا أقرأ هذه الرواية القصيرة وأتعجب كيف لحدث بسيط ولحظة ضبابية ومبهمة كل الإبهام أن تُحدث هذا الفرق الهائل في حياة شخصٍ ما !!
هل لأن الحياة الباهتة والضامرة تتأثر عميقاً بالمواقف المباغتة مهما كانت بسيطة؟ أم أنّ هذه المواقف الساذجة على بساطتها هي من تبني العالم الداخلي للبشر لأنها تسوقهم وراءها إلى عالم الأحلام والخيال السعيد؟
شخصياً، أنا أقدّس هذه اللحظات الحالمة وكثيراً ما أحاول إنعاشها في ذاكرتي، مهما كان الارتطام في الواقع بعدها مؤذياً ومليء بالإحباط .


أراد أن يقنع نفسه بأن حادث القبلة لا يمكن أن يكون طريفاً إلا باعتباره مغامرة صغيرة غامضة، وأنه في الواقع حادث تافه، ومن الغباء، على أقل تقدير، التفكير فيه جدياً، إلا أنه سرعان ما ترك عنه المنطق واستسلم للأحلام ..

[Fdwa Omar · Rating 3 out of 5]

هذه القصة القصيرة تفتح خبايا كثيرة في نفوسنا،يكشف فيها تشيخوف عن جوانب وأفكار نهرب منها و إليها..كفقاعة صابون نرتفع معها ونطير نشوة،ومانلبث أن نتشتت ونهوي لواقع ممل روتيني يتربص بنا..
لم تكن مجرد قبلة عابرة،أو حادث فائت..كانت نافذة حرية،أجنحة تحمله بعيدا جدا..
عمق التفاصيل النفسية في القصة..التساؤلات،الأحلام،التأملات..كلها تجردنا تواجهنا بمرآتنا..تكشفنا...

[Asmaa Elhelw · Rating 3 out of 5]

قلبي مع الجميل الذي لم يكتشف نفسه بعد

[Mostafa · Rating 4 out of 5]

" إن كل ما أحلم به الآن ، وما يبدو مستحيلاً وسماوياً ، هو في الواقع عادي جداً ، كل هذا عادي جداً والجميع يخبرونه .. "
،
إلي أولئك المهمشين جداً ، أشخاص تصادفهم يومياً وتقع عينك عليهم وتقول في نفسك أن هذا الرجل سيموت مثلما وُلد لن يحفل أحد ولن يهتم ولن يترك أثر وكان وجوده في الحياة مثل الريشة ..
نعم القصة عن هؤلاء .. من خلت حياتهم من الأحداث والتفاصيل لدرجة أن شئ عادي .. تجربة مراهقة .. تغير من نظرتهم لأنفسهم وإلي الحياة .. تجعلهم حالمين وآملين .. براعة في الوصف يمتلكها تشيخوف .. في وصف شكل ونفس البطل بشكل يجعلك تشفق عليه تود لو أنك تملك شيئاً لتقدمه له فعلاً .. ووصف أشياء أخري علي هامش القصة .. بعض الطقوس العسكرية ، والقواعد والبروتوكولات الإجتماعية التي سادت هذا الوقت في روسيا .. إنها قصة رقيقة جداً .. وتبعث أثر جميل في النفس .. لأن جميعنا عاشها أو عاش جزءاً منها أو لا زال في الإنتظار !

[Amir hossein .M · Rating 4 out of 5]

در نظر ریابویتچ تمام دنیا و خود زندگی شوخی نامفهوم و غیرقابل درکِ گنده‌ای به نظر می‌رسید، یک‌بار دیگر به یاد آورد که چطور سرنوشت در قالب زنی ناشناس، به طور غیرمنتظره او را غافلگیر کرده بود، رویا و خیال‌های تابستان به ذهنش هجوم آوردند و زندگی برایش بسیار حقیر، غمناک و نکبت‌بار به‌نظر رسید.
🍀
داستان بوسه‌‌ی چخوف!

داستان‌های چخوف یک‌جوری‌اند که در عین ناب بودن پایانی دارند که گویا طنزی تلخ نهفته.

در داستان بوسه حکایت سرباز توپخانه‌ای را می‌خوانیم که در مجلسی، بوسه‌ای از طرف دختری جوان که برایش ناشناس می‌ماند، ذهنش را مشغول می‌کند و ...

در کل بوسه‌‌ی چخوف ارزش خوندن داشت، اصلا مگه اثری از این نابغه هست که ارزش خوندن نداشته باشه؟!؟!

[Tawfek · Rating 3 out of 5]

كم من أحداث صغيرة قد تغير حياة أشخاص للابد او لفترة معينة من الوقت
عن القبلة البسيطة في معناها و التي تحدث في حياة الجميع او فلنقول في حياة الأغلبية العظمي
هناك دائمًا من حياتهم علي درجة من الملل او سوء الحظ من قد تكون القبله حدث عظيم في حياتهم
او ربما اعتراض ان يعترض علي امر ما من احدهم كما قرات في احد القصص القصيرة من قبل
او ربما شجار مع احدهم قد يمضي بقية حياته يحكي عن هذا الشجار فهو الشئ الوحيد المثير الذي تعرض له في حياته.
اشفق عليهم حقًا فهم اهل للشفقه و الامر نفسي بحت.
قد لا اكون في موضعهم و لكني في موضع آخر علي درجة من السوء و البشاعة يجعلني قادر علي رؤية هؤلاء المعذبين بدون ذنب حقيقي لهم سوي الإختلاف الذي لابد ان تكون عليه الدنيا و الأفراد و انعدام تساوي الفرص بين جميع من فيها.

[Gabrielė Bužinskaitė · Rating 3 out of 5]

"but now he bade farewell to logic and gave himself up to dreams. . . ."

How bittersweet.

It's a story about a little incident involving the battalion's shyest and least "experienced" officer. By unexpected circumstances, an unknown young woman mistakenly hugs and kisses him in the dark. He never gets to see her, only smell her, feel her touch.

Such a strange yet exciting incident changes him and consumes his days in daydreams. Who is she?

However, as perhaps expected, the realism of Chekhov shows itself at the end of the story. As much as I love Chekhov, I wish he was a little unrealistic and romantic this time. Ah.

Overall, it's a pleasant yet forgettable read.

[Driss El bouki · Rating 3 out of 5]

لم أعرف لماذا قرأتُ القُـبلة قُـنـبلةً،ولكنّ اتضح من خلال قرائتي للقصة أنّي على صَواب

[عزام الشثري · Rating 4 out of 5]

عاش حياته العسكريّة بشكل عاديّ
إلى أن نال قبلة أنثويّة غامضة في الظلام
فانقلبت حياة هذا المسكين رأسًا على عقب
في لقطات تشيخوفية نفسيّة بارعة تثير الشفقة
.
أجمل مافي القصّة غرابتها وواقعيتها الساحرتين
فهل يمكن أن تغيّر قبلة واحدة من حياة إنسان؟
هل يمكن لرجل أن يعيش على وهم حبّ خاصّ؟
وهل يستطيع احتواءه في صندوق سرّيّ داخل قلبه؟
تحوم هذه القصّة حول هذه الأسئلة دون إجابة ناجزة
لكن مع خاتمة صادمة

[Eslam Sami · Rating 3 out of 5]

هو جندي خجولا ليس لديه خبرات نسائية، ذهب حفلا وصادف فتاة ورقص معها وكانت أول رقصة له ووضع يده على خصرها وأخذ منها قبلة خاطفة، وكانت أول قبلة له، ذهبت بعقله وأخذت بلبه، فلم يدر من نفسه إلا لحظة القبلة ورائحة عطرها وفستانها، فكان ما قبلها هين وما بعدها هين، فأحبها كما يحب الرجال.

"كان يخيل إليه أنه يستطيع أن يتحدث عن القبلة حتى الصباح"

وكم يعاني الرجل من حبه، كم يقاسي ولو من أثر قبلة واحدة، للذين يقولون إن الرجل كالحجر في عواطفه، إن هذا الرجل - بطل الرواية - عانى من حبه الموهوم وتخيل من محبوبته ما صفى له منها وعاش بأمل في لقاء و بقاء، وكل ما دفعه إلى هذا قبلة عابرة على سبيل الخطأ أسكنت في نفسه ما وصفه الكاتب وصفا مفصلا بديعا، وما أسكنت في نفسها منه شيء، ومر به من الضيق والكدر فكلما ذكر القبلة واللقاء هان عليه كل شيء وأنتظر وبحث عنها على أمل الموعد الثاني حتى أخر الرواية وما نال مراده.

[Ahmed Ibrahim · Rating 3 out of 5]

تكفي قبلة واحدة لتحول حياة شخص خجول إلى شخص حالم ومحب للحياة، هي بمثابة الحجر المقذوف في المياه الراكده، أزاحت عنه خجله وجعلته يرسم مواصفاتً لفتاته كما يريد. لكن سخرية القدر هنا أنه لم يحظى غير بقبلة ظل أثرها إلى أن عادت الحياة لدورانها المعتاد بعد أنتهاء حلمه المنشود.
قبلة واحدة لم تكفي لتغير الحياة، ولكنها حولتها للأسوء.
قصة جيدة، عميقة المعنى، ووصف دقيق للغاية.

[Aminova · Rating 3 out of 5]

ايمكن لقبلة حدثت عن طريق الصدفة ان تفعل كل هذا ؟ ان تغير حياة الانسان وتجمد كل ما عاشه من قبل وكل ما سيعيشه في المستقبل
وتجعل تفكيره كله منحصر في تلك اللحظة العابرة ؟

[Coenraad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chekhov gives a fascinating, humane insight into the romantic experiences of people. 'The kiss' deals with a young, socially awkward soldier who is kissed in error by a young woman at a houseparty. His whole outlook on life changes. In 'A visit to friends' a lawyer is invited to visit friends on their country estate - he has not seen them in a long time. They require his help to save the estate from financial ruin; if he marries the wife's youngest sister, everyone will be happy, but this possibility does not appeal to the lawyer. The style is light, which emphasizes the seriousness indirectly; the tone is breezy, although the characters involved won't regard their situations as comical. I enjoyed these stories much more than the ones in the Penguin 60s set dedicated to Chekhov.

Tsjekof se twee verhale in hierdie bundeltjie handel oor die emosionele spore van die liefde. 'n Sosiaal ongemaklike soldaat se hele lewensuitkyk verander wanneer hy per ongeluk gesoen word. 'n Prokureur kan 'n gesin help om hul landgoed te behou as hy met die vrou se jongste suster trou, maar is dit 'n oplossing vir sy eie lewe? Die skryfstyl is lig en bedrieglik eenvoudig, maar belig tog die onderliggende erns.

[رولا حسن · Rating 2 out of 5]

جندي خجول اانطوائي يروي لنا وقوفه على الاطلال(اطلال قبلة)

[leynes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) is one of the most well-known and beloved playwrights and short-story writers from Russia. Some even consider him the best. Since I hadn't read a single work of his, I'd thought I'd give this collection of two of his short stories – "The Kiss" and "A Visit to Friends" – a go.

Unfortunately, both stories, but especially the second one, were huge disappointments. Chekhov's writing style was passable at best, but most importantly, I didn't care for any of the characters or what was going on. The "moral" of the stories was pretty much on the nose and I had no fun analysing them further.

On top of that, this particular translation by Ronald Wilks felt extremely choppy; the choice of words was really modern ("...he said, trying to sound cool and sarcastic"), so much so that it actually pulled me out of the story.

After having just dipped my toes into Chekhov's work, I'm not going to discard him completely. I'm still interested in some of his plays but I think I will stay clear of his short stories for a while.

The Kiss (3 stars):
How much should we read into a simple kiss? After an accidental encounter with a mysterious woman, Chekhov's timid protagonist in "The Kiss", Ryabovitch, struggles to answer this question and resolve the distinction between the significant and the meaningless in this most enigmatic of all human acts – the kiss.

"The Kiss" opens on a May evening when the officers of the Reserve Artillery Brigade are invited to take tea at the manor house of a local aristocrat, Lieutenant-General Von Rabbek. At the house the General greets them, apologising that he cannot offer them rooms for the night due a large gathering of visiting family and neighbours. Together they take tea, brandy and cakes, and the General and his guests engage the officers in conversation, dance and billiards. Here we're offered our first glimpse of the protagonist, Ryabovich: a “little officer in spectacles, with sloping shoulders, and whiskers links a lynx's”.

In this atmosphere of elegance and social sophistication Ryabovich is the “most ill at ease of them all”; unlike his companions, he is reserved, graceless, unskilled in conversation, and stands awkwardly at the periphery watching those around him enjoy themselves. During the evening, he takes a wrong turn while wandering about the halls and strays into a dark room. Moments later, two “unmistakably feminine arms” embrace his neck, and then, in the darkness, Ryabovich feels a kiss on his cheek. Realising her error, the mysterious woman shrieks and rushes from the room.

The encounter rouses Ryabovich's spirit. He becomes intoxicated by the lingering smell of the woman's perfume and the tingling sensation of her touch on his moustache; he forgets, just for a brief time, his undistinguished appearance and discards his inhibitions. He searches for the identity of his secret love, but in vain, and can only form a vague montage of her form based on the women who attended the evening. Nevertheless, the passion does not fade and the kiss begins to torment his days and nights with desire.

"The Kiss" follows the theme of many of Chekhov's short stories, in which a flawed and ordinary character is set up for existential disappointment. Chekhov allows Ryabovich a brief sample of the divine, only to, almost sadistically, deny him the possibility of ever retaining it. Like a small dog leaping for a treat that is just beyond it reach, Ryabovich is unable to control his desires and is powerless to change his condition.

A Visit to Friends (1 star):
In the ironically titled "A Visit to Friends", a young lawyer of the name of Podgorin is called upon by friends in the country to rescue their family and their estate which has been reduced to bankruptcy and auction.

The story opens with the obvious nostalgia felt by Podgorin for the “poor student” summer which he spent in the country at Kuzminki with his friend Tatyana Losev ten years earlier, her then very young sister Nadezhda and her friend Varvara Pavlovna. He “had given Nadezhda coaching in maths and history in exchange for board and lodging” and Varvara, then a medical student, lessons in Latin. That summer Tatyana “could think of nothing but love”.

The idyll of a decade ago has not simply been erased by the passage of time. Tatyana has taken possession of the estate as her dowry, only to have it squandered away by the coarse, pompous, plump, idle, ineffectual and insufferable husband she has acquired, Sergey Sergeich. Tatyana's zealous, jealous, protective and illusory thoughts now revolve around her husband, their daughters and the loss of her home.

Ultimately, Podgorin cannot be moved to help his old "friends". He is disgusted of what has become of them and the "idyll" he remembers so vividly from his youth. Horrified, he flees from the countryside and leaves his old friends to their own misery.

Upon doing some research I learned that Chekhov himself took a dislike to this story – “rather poor I think” – and refused to include it in his collected works as he was compiling in the final years of his life. Thank God we're both on the same page here, sweety, because this is easily one of the worst, most boring, pointless short stories I have ever read. Do not recommend.

[Shahla Pirasteh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting is a Russian village on a May evening. The officers of an artillery brigade are invited by a retired general to spend an evening dining and dancing in his residence. During the evening, one of the officers, Ryabovich, an inarticulate conversationalist, graceless dancer, timid drinker, and altogether awkward social mixer, wanders away from the other guests and strays into a semidark room. Shortly afterward, a strange woman enters the room, clasps two fragrant arms around his neck, whispers “At last!” and kisses him. Recognizing her mistake, the woman then shrieks and runs from the room.

Ryabovich also exits quickly and soon shows himself to be a changed man: “He wanted to dance, to talk, to run into the garden, to laugh aloud.” He begins to exercise a lively romantic fancy, speculating which of the ladies at the dinner table might have been his companion.

The artillery brigade leaves the area for maneuvers. Ryabovich tries to tell himself that the episode of the kiss was accidental and trifling--to no avail. His psychic needs embrace it as a wondrously radiant event.

In late August, Ryabovich’s battery returns to the village. He makes his second trip to the general’s estate but this time pauses to ponder in the garden. He can no longer hear the nightingale that sang loudly in May; the poplar and grass no longer exude a scent; he walks a bridge near the general’s bathing cabin and touches a towel which feels clammy and cold; ripples of the river rip the moon’s reflection into bits. Ryabovich now realizes that his romantic dreams have been absurdly disproportionate to their cause: “And the whole world... seemed to [him:] an unintelligible, aimless jest.” When the general’s invitation comes, he refuses it.

[Suad Alhalwachi · Rating 5 out of 5]

بعد قراءة العديد من قصص أنطون تشيكوف تأكدت بأن هذا الانسان مسيطر وبشدة على معرفة النفس البشرية وكذلك بكل ما يحيط بها. انك ستتخيل المكان والزمان والليل والنهار والأشجار والورود والانهار واذا كان هنالك جبال او وديان وما الى ذلك وحتى داخل البيوت وما يلبس كل شخص وكيف تتخيل الشخص في الظلام من خلال سماع صوت خطواته. المتلقي للقبلة بنى حياته المستقبلية عليها بالرغم من أنه لم يعرف من هي التي اعطته تلك القبلة وحتى تخيل اطفاله منها؟ اتمنى لو استطيع ان اكتب بهذا الوضوح الخيالي.

قصة قصيرة جدا وتمنيت لو انها كانت اطول.

[Rihab · Rating 4 out of 5]

"All I am dreaming about now which seems to me so impossible and unearthly is really
quite an ordinary thing," thought Ryabovitch ,
__

Ryabovitch , to love and be loved in return .. even if it's an ordinary thing , you have to be lucky !
The troika : Fate ( luck ) , take the risk , opportunity .

[Yasmine Mohamed · Rating 3 out of 5]

تمتاز هذه الاقصوصة بالوصف الرائع لتشيكوف فتخيلتني أسير مع الضابط الخجول الحالم و أرى بعينيه الطبيعة الرائعة و احس بمشاعره البريئة الحالمة المحلقة في الخيال ثم ما لبث أن عاد إلى أرض الواقع المخيب للآمال فهناك الحرب و الوحدة و الاشتياق.
فما أحلى الأحلام حتى و لو كانت مجرد خيال فأحيانا هي أفضل من واقع مرير و مؤلم.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, the pain of the timid wallflower, sparked by a chance encounter, and later embittered by dashed unrealistic hopes. Something I certainly did not fall victim to in my youth time and time again, >.>

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short miserable story. I loved it.

[Ahmad Dakka · Rating 3 out of 5]

‏القبلة ..
تتحدث عن المهمشين في هذا العالم، الذين لم يحفلوا بالإهتمام في يوم من الأيام، الذين تقول عندما تصادفهم ان هؤلاء سيموتون مثلما ولدوا، لن يحفلوا بشيء " حيث انه قال ان كل ما اتمناه يبدو عاديًا "
وعندما يحصلون على الإهتمام صدفة يتمسكون به، كما يتمسك الغريق بقشة ويصبح كل حياتهم..

[António Jacinto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um conto curtíssimo. É maravilhoso ler assim um conto, fora de uma colectânea. Tchékhov é impressionante.
Terão aqui vindo buscar algo Buzzati e Scott Fitzgerald. E mesmo a nossa Sophia. Há marcas textuais que, de Tchékhov passam para imensos autores. Certas frases simples têm uma precisão incrível, sem se insinuarem.

[Marouan Abed · Rating 3 out of 5]

ذكرتني قصة تشيخوف هاته بعمل الأديب الفرنسي ألبير كامو "أسطورة سيزيف"، في كون تلك القبلة المنفلتة التي نزلت على قلب ريابوفتش كالقنبلة كما وصفها صديقي إدريس محركا للحياة و المعنى، ساعيا وراءها لخلق هدف من شيء عبثي، كأعمى في ليلة مظلمة وسط غرفة معتمة في بحث عن قط أسود غير موجود