Chekhov: The Comic Stories

by Anton Chekhov, Harvey Pitcher (Translator, Editor), Patrick Miles (Translator)

By the time he was 28, Anton Chekhov had published more than 500 short works of fiction, about half of them comic stories and farces. Since then, it has been well documented that these works, dashed off while he was "chasing two hares at once" - his medical career and his modest literary pursuits - were carried out largely to pay the bills. Harvey Pitcher has selected and translated approximately forty of these short stories, all of which reflects a genius for comedy which is as fresh and entertaining now as it was then: simple sketches that are like verbal cartoons or comic scripts; outrageous parodies and stories with a comic twist; satirical and subversive sketches that anticipate the anti-authoritarian attitudes of his later work and excursions into the absurd that foreshadow his unconventional approach to stage dialogue. Originally published by Andre Deutsch in 1988, this is the first time the book has been available in paperback. It has been revised by the author to include fourteen brand new stories. Publication coincides with the centenary of Chekhov's death.

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2011

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

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A joyous little collection, with gems such as "Notes from the Diary of a Short-tempered Man" that come so close making it 5.0.

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic, tasteful dark humour. I found myself enjoying in particular stories relating to authorship and creativity (i.e.: 'What You Nearly Always Find in Novels, Stories, etc.', 'A Drama', and 'Notes from the Journal of a Quick-tempered Man'). The way Chekhov winks to the audience with purposefully silly names, and self-aware commentary and dialogue here reminds me so much of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David that the influence has to be direct.

Shoutout Phillip Baker Hall.

I will say that it does not make for the most nuanced reading to plow through these stories in succession, but that can certainly be forgiven in a compilation of strictly comic stories. As it is with Gogol and Dostoevsky, I both appreciate and identify this portrayal of rigid social conventions as they inevitably clash with an individual's comprehension of them ('The Objet d'Art' really steals the show in that regard). I look forward to reading more Chekhov as I recently bought a collection of his most famous plays.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get the feeling that if Chekhov were alive today he'd be writing for SNL or doing standup. And there are some pretty funny stories here. But I ended up reading this with another Chekhov story collection, and that one seemed to have just as many funny stories. So if you're looking for his comedic stories, I wouldn't say this is any better than the others.