Chekhov: The Early Stories 1883-1888

by Anton Chekhov (Tranlated by Patrick Miles)

This collection, selected by Shelby Foote, presents seventy of Chekhov's early short stories, written between 1883 and 1888, in celebrated translations by Constance Garnett. One of the most memorable is "The Death of a Government Clerk, " a glorious parody in which a fawning official is undone by an ill-timed sneeze. "On the Road, " the history of an educated man's search for convictions, is one of Chekhov's finest dramatic stories and the source of his first full-length play, Ivanov. And in "The Steppe, " which marked a turning point in Chekhov's career, a boy's picaresque journey across the Russian heartland evokes the soul of Russia itself.

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

203 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

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

[Shahab Samani · Rating 4 out of 5]

قبل از این که وارد ماجرای کتاب "کارمندها" شویم، به نظر خودم بهتر است به این پرسش بپردازیم که چرا پرداختن به زندگی کارمندی، برای بسیاری از نویسندگان ایرانی و غیر ایرانی، یک موضوع همیشگی بوده است؟ در آثار غلامحسین ساعدی و صمد بهرنگی تا چخوف و تولستوی و حتی نویسندگان جدیدتر، داستان‌های زیادی را می‌توان سراغ گرفت که در حال و هوای کارمندی و حواشی آن صورت‌بندی می‌شوند. مجموعه داستان شب نشینیِ با شکوهِ ساعدی، آقای چوخ بختیار صمد بهرنگی، بوقلمون صفتِ چخوف، حتی مرگ ایوان ایلیچِ تولستوی و تبرِ وست لیک همگی مستقیم و غیر مستقیم به زندگیِ کارمندی در جهان جدید پرداخته‌اند. همگی این آثار که البته می‌توان تعداد زیادی اثر دیگر را هم به آنها افزود سعی کرده‌اند تصویری از این سبک زندگی خاص جهان جدید و تبعات آن بسازند. اصولا همین فراگیری زندگی کارمندی در جهان جدید است که آن را وارد ادبیات کرده است و قطعا ادبیات در پیوند با محیط اطراف است که شکل می‌گیرد. ادبیات تلاش کرده است از زندگی کارمندی چنان پدیده‌های اجتماعی دیگر، تصویری فراگیر بسازد، ماهیت آن را روشن کند و در مراحل بعدی تبعات و جزئیات پنهان آن را پیش‌روی مخاطبان قرار دهد. اما تصویر ساخته شده از کارمندی در ادبیات همانقدر کلیشه‌ای است که احتمالا خود کارمندی. این تصویر گاهی غیرمنصفانه، گاهی غمگین و گاهی حتی شایسته‌‌ی سرزنش است و اصولا بازنمایی هر چیزی، نمی تواند به طور کامل از قضاوت ارزشی به دور باشد. حقیقت این است که سبک زندگی کارمندی، هیچ گاه در بین نویسندگان و روشنفکران سبک زندگی محبوبی نبوده است. این عدم محبوبیت با نفوذ اندیشه‌های چپ در ادبیات بیشتر هم شد. اگر تا پیش از قرن بیستم کارمندان به این علت که از فرهنگ اشرافی به دور بودند تحقیر می‌شدند، با نفوذ اندیشه‌های چپ به خرده‌بورژوازی پست و پیاده‌نظام سرمایه‌داران هم تبدیل شدند. به این ترتیب "کارمندی" همواره در معرض نقد و حتی تحقیر بوده است و هر کسی از ظن خود لگدی بر این پیکره‌ی نحیف اما جان سخت جهان جدید زده است. جان سخت از این نظر که با وجود همه‌ی این لعن و نفرین‌ها و نقد و تحقیرها، کارمندی بخش جدایی ناپذیر ساختار اجتماعی جدید است که از گذشته‌ی حالا دیگر دور تا همین امروز صبح، در سرتاسر جهان، همراه بسیاری از آدم‌ها است و دشوار می‌شود زندگی واقعی را بدون آن تصور کرد.
قبل از این که به خود کتاب بپردازیم این نقل قول از چخوف را بخوانید تا اصطلاحا حساب کار دستتان بیاید: « ... من هرگز یک کارمند اداری را که به معنی و هدف کار خود واقف باشد ندیده ام ... این [بخشنامه‌ها و قوانین کارمندی] برای آن است که دیگران را از جنبش‌های آزادی خواهانه محروم کنند، جنبشی که کارمند اعتنائی و اعتقادی بدان ندارد و اندیشه‌ای درباره آن به خود راه نمی‌دهد» (نقل از پیشگفتار مترجم، صفحه 19) این نقل قول کوتاه نشان می‌دهد که چخوف نیز، مانند بسیاری از نویسندگان دیگر در برابر زندگی کارمندی اساسا شمشیر را از رو بسته است و تلاش می‌کند به سبک خود به این شیوه‌ی زندگی حمله کند.
کتاب "کارمندها" مجموعه داستانی از آنتوان چخوف است. داستان‌های این مجموعه از بین آثار دوران اولیه‌ی نویسندگی چخوف (1883-1888) انتخاب شده‌اند. ویژگی بارز همه‌ی داستان‌ها را می‌توان غلبه‌ی جنبه‌های فکاهی و «طنز روزنامه‌ای» در آنها دانست. ولی همین داستان‌های به ظاهر کمیک در باطن خود گزندگی و با انتقادی کم‌نظیری را به همراه دارند. طنزی که علیرغم بعضی مبالغه‌ها، در کلیت خود نهایتا با حقیقت بیگانه نیست، حقیقتی که تلخ، آزاردهنده و گاه سخت بی‌رحم است. در غالب داستان‌های این مجموعه ترس، چاپلوسی، تملق، دوروئی و ابتذال زندگی کارمندی و کارکنان دولتی و همچنین فساد نظام اداری به تصویر کشیده شده است.
در اکثر این داستان‌ها چخوف شیوه‌ی تضاد و مبالغه را به کار می‌گیرد و از طریق آن پیام انتقادی و افشاگرانه‌اش را به خواننده می‌رساند. به طور مثال در داستان «تحمل مصیبت» عده‌ای از کارمندان و صاحب منصبان دولتی و غیره برای تبریک سال نو در دستگاه با شکوه تزاری گرد آمده‌اند تا دفتر مخصوص تبریک سال نو را بسیار مجلل توصیف می‌شود امضا کنند. با این حال راوی داستان اشاره می‌کند که جنس کاغذ این دفتر از نوع ارزان و پستی است که پوچی کل ماجرا را می‌رساند. در داستانی دیگر پدر و پسری برای احتمال دستیابی به شغلی حقیر دور یک می میز می‌چرخند و قوقولی‌قوقو می‌کنند. جوهر تمامی داستان‌ها رئالیسمی این چنینی است که تلاش می‌کند خصلت فاجعه آمیز وقایع روزمره را افشا کنند. در داستان‌های این مجموعه هیچ چیز مبهم، تاریک و پیچیده‌ای وجود ندارد. چخوف در هیچ کدام از داستان‌هایش بالای منبر نمی‌رود، فلسفه‌بافی نمی‌کند و درس اخلاق هم نمی‌دهد. او با لحنی آرام، هشدار می‌دهد.
در داستان‌های چخوف، از پیچیدگی‌های آثار داستایوفسکی یا دیگر نویسندگان روس خبری نیست. چخوف برای نشان دادن فاجعه به سراغ وقایع پیچیده یا خلاف عادت نمی‌رود، او فاجعه را از دل زندگی روزمره بیرون می‌کشد. گویی در داستان‌های چخوف حوادث مهم همین خوردن، نوشیدن و حرف‌زدن هستند. شخصیت‌های آثار چخوف همگی بدون استثناء آد‌م‌هایی کاملا معمولی و آشنا هستند: دهقان، مباشر، کارمند، دانشجو. ما در داستان‌های او به یک مورد شخصیت غیر عادی و یا «قهرمان» برنمی‌خوریم، نه راسکولنیکف، نه مشکین، نه آناکارنینا و نه ستاروگین، از هیچ کدام خبری نیست. چهره‌های آثار او از غوغای حوادث به دور اند، اما همین آدم‌های کوچک و معمولی، همین افراد حقیر حاملان فاجعه‌اند. فجایع عظیمی که در پس آواری از ظاهرسازی، ریاکاری و لفاظی پنهان شده‌اند. باید اعتراف کرد که در همین داستان‌های به ظاهر ساده است که چخوف تصویر تضادها، انحطاط‌ها، امیدها و رنج‌های مردمی که درگیر حوادث و موقعیت‌های ساده و کمیک روزمره هستند را در معرض قضاوت خواننده قرار می‌دهد.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This selection of thirty-five of Anton Chekhov's short stories, covering a period of five years, is an object lesson in how one author can create variety in this small-scale genre. There are scarcely any false moves here: we're presented with cheeky humour as well as deep emotion, and served up with well-observed portraits and dramatic episodes. Some pieces are really short -- punchy, scarcely two pages long -- others approach novelette length. All are quintessentially Russian, infused now by bureaucracy, now by irreverence, sometimes expansive as suits the country's landscape or intimate as we focus in on a peasant's hovel. And, for the most part, these tales are about people in all their fragility and weakness -- youngsters, old people, couples, bourgeoisie, soldiers, musicians, artisans.

It's impossible to do more than suggest the range by reference to a few select examples, so I will endeavour to give a suggestion of Chekhov's skill in the setting of mood. I can't speak of whether the choices made by the translators are exemplary or not, but I can marvel how a young man in his twenties (born in 1860, he died at too early an age, in his mid-forties) was able to capture such a broad view of human nature.

The comic, sometimes absurdist, aspect of Russian life comes across in a number of tales. Rapture (1883) anticipates our modern obsession with fame and celebrity when Mitya gets excited over a local newspaper report of his needing superficial treatment after a road accident. The Objet d'Art (1886) is a clever take on that familiar conundrum, the unwanted gift. No Comment (1888) is a kind of shaggy dog story based on the notion that the devil always has the best tunes: how can monks keep their composure when they hear of the fleshpots of the local town?

All good stories are observational, but Chekhov can effectively pare his down. The Complaints Book (1884) is essentially a glance at the kind of visitors book one sees in churches or the reviews one sees on Trip Advisor: serious but tedious comments are interspersed with irrelevancies, personal comments and insults. Fat and Thin (1883) is a wry reflection on how a change of professional status can profoundly affect a friendship first established at school: the repeated phrase "it was a pleasant shock" takes on a subtly different tone at the end the story compared to the beginning.

As the years go on Chekhov's short stories get longer and develop a maturity that counteracts his earlier impish efforts. For example A Dreadful Night (1884) is a classic Christmas ghost story but with a twist in the tail, certainly effective but also entirely frivolous. On the other hand the later Let Me Sleep (1888) is also a tale to be told at night but altogether more chilling: a 13-year-old nursemaid, Varka, is responsible for keeping an eye out for the household's ill baby, but her incessant daytime duties combined with her disturbed nighttime responsibility cause her to hallucinate from sleeplessness.

'Bayu-bayushki-bayú,' she croons, 'I'll sing a song for you . . .' And the baby screams and wears itself out screaming. […] Through her half-sleep there is one thing that she simply cannot grasp: the nature of the force that binds her hand and foot, that oppresses her and makes life a misery […] and, as she listens to the sound of the crying, finds it, this enemy that is making life a misery.

The inevitable happens: and then finally she laughs with joy that now she can sleep, and a minute later is sleeping the sleep of the dead . . .

The Huntsman (1885), Grisha (1886), Kids (1886), Verochka (1887), The Kiss (1887) -- I could go on quoting or noting tales that struck me, but it would simply be to reiterate what mastery of writing these choices illustrate. I shall just add something about this edition. The translators' informative introduction is one best read after the stories themselves. The notes afterwards give the original titles and explain how Chekhov's jokey names for individuals in the humorous tales are nearly impossible to render in English. At times the translations are of their time and place, reflecting a rather British flavour in the use of words and phrases, but they are unable to disguise the Russian essence of these 19th-century pieces.

This, then, is a collection to keep and reread, for their skill and their haunting quality -- I still hear the bells and the singing and see the bonfires and the river described in Easter Night (1886), for example.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
This is a collection of short stories, some of them very short, barely a page. Those feel more like doodles or scenes than actual stories, but as the book progresses the stories get longer and better. Chekov is a master at setting the scene quickly:
"It is midday, hot and close. Not a puff of cloud in the sky...The sun-parched grass looks at you sullenly, despairingly: even a downpour won't turn it green now. The forest stands there silent and still, as if gazing somewhere with the tops of its trees...
Along the edge of the scrub ambles a tall, narrow-shouldered man..."

But he's also very good at putting his finger on universal moments of being human:
"He could not believe that a girl whom he liked so much had just declared her love to him, and he had so crudely and clumsily turned her down. For the first time in his life he had learned from experience how little a man's actions depend on his good will, and had found himself in the position of a decent, sincere man, who against his will has caused cruel and unwarranted suffering to his neighbor."

Some of the stories were legitimately funny (A Drama), and many were achingly sad. All in all I thought this was a really good introduction to Chekov and I enjoyed it a lot.

[Erma Odrach · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's easy to be sympathetic to all of Chekhov's characters, even in these early stories. Some are funny, farcical and even outrageous, while others are very sad. In the comedy "A Drama", Medusina bores a famous writer, Pavel Vasilyevich, to death with a drama she's written that he ends up swinging a paperweight at her head and killing her. The story of orphaned Vanka at Christmastime, apprenticed to a brutal shoemaker, is enough to bring one to tears. These amazing early stories already showcase Chekhov's keen insight into Russian society.

[sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading the translation feels as if at times you are never fully able to grasp the same appreciation of his writing, yet i am able to understand the woah of a mind like his. despite it being in translation each story feels so full of life, lush. although there are stories in this collection that were not so jarring, many were able to have a distinct impact on myself.

the most being ‘the kiss’, it is so woeful and almost frustrating to read due to the low self esteem of the guard yet the way he writes is able to make this story of a man who’s thoughts linger on a kiss, something that sounds so simple, so intriguing.

i loved it and i have grown such an appreciation for chekov from reading his early short works. it really makes me want to pick up russian in order to read his work as authentic as possible aaaaaaaaa. if you are given the chance to i think even reading one or two stories from this collection would arise so many thoughts and an appreciation for him.

[Fahimeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

از نیمه ی کتاب به بعد نتونستم بیشتر پیش برم
مضمون و موضوع خوبی داشتی _زندگی کارمندی ، سختی ها ، دغدغه ها، چاپلوسی ها ، و اجبار به جلب رضایت روسا برای پست و مقام_ اما برای من خشک و کسل کننده بود .
نمایشنامه های چخوف رو بیشتر می‌پسندم تا داستان کوتاه .

[James Violand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. Highly recommended. In my opinion, he is the greatest short story writer of all time.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant writing. His stories still ring true. So much great writing into such small and short stories, amazing !!

[Adam Spargo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a tough one to get through but not a tough one to rank. I absolutely love Chekhov's ability to tell a story, and you this work of his showcased how varied he can get when it comes to his early style. He has this unique ability to make you think something completely ordinary will happen within the novel, and sometimes that's all that does happen, but other times he simply delights in pulling the rug out from underneath his readers and putting you into a completely different situation.

Some stories, like The Fish, are simply about common folk trying to catch a fish. Simple premise and it ends in more and more people jumping into the pond, thinking they know better, to catch the fish and is rather funny. A Blunder is another of my favorites that plays out in a humorous way.

On the other hand, the ones I really love, are the ones that take dark and fantastical turns and leave the reader feeling strange. Misery is a good short story for this, as it simply is about the misery of an old man. It doesn't require many dark turns to make you feel melancholy throughout. Kashtanka is another (longer) short story that describes life at that time from the eyes of a dog that comes from a poor/cruel family and is recruited into a circus-like adventure. This one takes a lot of turns and leaves the reader feeling mixed at the outcome. These are just to name a few of my favorites.

I also love "The Kiss", which is one of Chekhov's iconic pieces, "The Cattle-Dealers" as it was another story of hilarity in the face of everyday Russian life where an old man attempts to sell his cattle, but the trip takes so long he loses incredible sums for his trouble, "Difficult People" is an uncomfortable look inside a home torn apart by an angry father and how this affects his family, "Agafya" where we looked at the life of a man broken and poor but beloved by women and sought after for midnight rendezvous, "A work of Art" is honestly just a really funny short story, "In the Court" is another slap in the face of what life was like back then and even contains a bit of a twist when unexpected. "The Runaway" and "The Witch" were also uniquely good.

I'm not sure I liked his earliest pieces as much, but his piece "A Dead Body" was very chilling and built an understanding of how to handle these issues in 19th into the 20th century, which I never considered. The only piece I didn't read here was "The Steppe" due to its 100-page nature and I have read it previously and is one of my favorites.

Overall, great piece of literature that was only challenging to go through because it feels very choppy with so many entries.

[Sarah Siddiqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember being introduced to Chekhov by someone, whom I admired for their oratory skills, as an example on how to inculcate good humor to one's writing or speech. I wasn't disappointed. His writing is a commentary on society and social relations in a very subtle and artful way while maintaining a wry or sarcastic tone. People are often in desperate and pitiable situations but he makes them seem interesting and peculiar. I wouldn't mind reading more of his work in the future. Some stories which stood out for me were the following;

1. The Death of a Civil Servant - an account of a poor man whose anxiety gets the best of him after he sneezes on his superior.

2. The Chameleon - a comical depiction of a society where a person's crime is judged according to his rank or status.

3. The Object d'Art - when an object is circulated around as a gift and no one wants to keep it.

4. Minds in Ferment - when a crowd gathers to observe something vital taking place but no one knows what it is.

[Sarita Molla · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're interested in Chekhov's writings then you really should check out his short stories. Each short story is only a page or two long ans super easy to read. Yet, each story has Chekhov's witty essence. One of my favourite authors without a doubt. He just does dark humour in such a funny manner that I would have loved to be friends with him in a different life.

[Erika Schade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the collection, many many of the stories are snippets of life rather than full stories. Some were a bit tedious with long monologues that are repetitive, but those are excepted, as among the collection are absolute gems and delightful short stories!

[Tom King · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of brilliant and disturbing with some failures, but that's the nature of short story collections. The best ones stick with you.

[Susanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/6 points, p:1883-88, I know he is THE master, but I just can’t find access to short stories

[Zbra · Rating 5 out of 5]

anton chekov punya gaya na

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

POST READ:
A wonderful range of stories here, from what are termed 'cartoons' because of their brevity -
humorous, ironic, satirical yet sympathetic...to ones that will just tear at your heart,
the endings left unsaid because you can write them in your head.
These are fine Chekhov, which show that the genius was there from the start,
and why these were recognised by ordinary Russians in ordinary magazines
and are still treasured.
You will be delighted and moved to make their acquaintance.
DON"T MISS OUT!!!!!

WHILE READING:

Chekhov FUNNY ????
No "apparently" about it !!!!
Here, (and the gods bless Harvey Pitcher and Patrick Miles for it)
a mere drop in the Ocean of the 528 items Chekhov produced between 1880 and March 1888. Almost 100 years later, in 1982, only 264 of these had been translated into English...AND are not necessarily still in print!!
Here we are presented with 35.
At some cost, so DON'T feel hard done by.

THE COST:
In their introduction to my ABACUS edition,Harvey and Patrick,(and why not be on a first name basis with these chaps who have slogged away for our benefit), describe their self-imposed regimen for delivering us the very best they could in TRANSLATION.
Briefly - first draft sent; unsparing criticism of amendments and suggestions by second translator; second translation either incorporating or rejecting critiques and suggestions; meeting of Harvey and Patrick; revised draft read aloud where new defects, especially in dialogue detected; discussions for weeks, months afterwards.
Continuous consultation re highly specialised areas of knowledge with those in the know,unsurprisingly with Russians on language and manners.
We're lucky they didn't think 5 stories sufficent!!!!

Now get THIS...these 528 stories, all written between the ages of 20 and 28 by Chekhov amount to nine-tenths of his total output as a short story writer. In the 16 years left to him , he produced only one-tenth of his output and that one-tenth is the only part of his work that most of us know.His plays I presume are not included.

Not only are these early stories the favourites of most Russians, who know many as "Motely Tales", but they would have ensured Chekhov fame even if he had not written his last one-tenth.
Phrases used by Patrick and Harvey to describe these early works are:
"unprincipled comic artist",
"a deeply subversive writer for all seasons and societies",
"that sense of fun and sublime ridiculousness that Chekhov never lost."

Some stories are only two pages in length, often four, and rarely longer. The March, 1888 story that took him into a new realm of status, wealth and marked his debut in the serious literary periodicals was his hundred page narrative "The Steppe".

I now realise, after many years of reading my dear Chekhov, that I now have a more complete portrait of his writings and a new appreciation of him as an artist and a real awakening of his artistic development.
These 35 tales have the seeds and echoes of what was to come later; much of what comes later is here in some form or another and often entire.
But in those last 16 years, Chekhov changed as his society was changing, as his awareness increased of what Russia was dealing with, socially and politically, and the huge changes that must come.
And his own life story developed as he faced his imminent death from tuberculosis, saw a brother die of the same disease, married, visited the labour camps and dealt with the vagaries of fame.
All of this is contained in the work of those 16 years.

Finally...READ THIS BOOK!!! IT IS A MUST!!!
And you will LOVE Chekhov.

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Kiss” (trans. By Constance Garnett)

The water was running, he knew not where or why, just as it did in May. In May it had flowed into the great river, from the great river into the sea; then it had risen in vapour, turned into rain, and perhaps the very same water was now running before Ryabovitch's eyes again...What for? Why?
And the whole world, the whole of life, seemed to Ryabovitch an unintelligible, aimless jest...And turning his eyes from the water and looking at the sky, he remembered again how fate in the person of an unknown woman had by chance caressed him, he remembered his summer dreams and fancies, and his life struck him as extraordinarily meagre, poverty-stricken, and colourless...

“The Steppe” (trans. By Constance Garnett)

When you gaze for a long while fixedly at the deep sky thoughts and feelings for some reason merge in a sense of loneliness. One begins to feel hopelessly solitary, and everything one used to look upon as near and akin becomes infinitely remote and valueless; the stars that have looked down from the sky thousands of years already, the mists and the incomprehensible sky itself, indifferent to the brief life of man, oppress the soul with their silence when one is left face to face with them and tries to grasp their significance. One is reminded of the solitude awaiting each one of us in the grave, and the reality of life seems awful...full of despair...

There is something melancholy, pensive, and extremely poetical about a solitary tomb; one feels its silence, and the silence gives one the sense of the presence of the soul of the unknown man who lies under the cross. Is that soul at peace on the steppe? Does it grieve in the moonlight? Near the tomb the steppe seems melancholy, dreary and mournful; the grass seems more sorrowful, and one fancies the grasshoppers chirrup less freely, and there is no passer-by who would not remember that lonely soul and keep looking back at the tomb, till it was left far behind and hidden in the mists.

“Lights” (trans. By Constance Garnett)

“All these thoughts of the transitoriness, the insignificance and the aimlessness of life, of the inevitability of death, of the shadows of the grave, and so on, all such lofty thoughts, I tell you, my dear fellow, are good and natural in old age when they come as the product of years of inner travail, and are won by suffering and really are intellectual riches; for a youthful brain on the threshold of real life they are simply a calamity! A calamity!”

[Ananyev] paused for a little, then said: “Those lights remind the Baron of the Amalekites, but it seems to me that they are like the thoughts of man...You know the thoughts of each individual man are scattered like that in disorder, stretch in a straight line towards some goal in the midst of the darkness, and, without shedding light on anything, without lighting up the night, they vanish somewhere far beyond old age [...]”

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

1883
Joy (aka Rapture; Радость)-
The death of a government clerk (Смерть чиновника)-
A daughter of Albion (Дочь Альбиона)-
Fat and thin (Толстый и тонкий)--
The bird market (В Москве на Трубной площади)--
***
The slanderer (Клевета)--3
A wicked/naughty boy (aka That wretched boy; Злой мальчик)--

1884
Choristers (Певчие)--
Minds in ferment (Брожение умов)--
A chameleon (Хамелеон)--
In the graveyard (На кладбище)--
Oysters (Устрицы)--3
***
The Swedish match (Шведская спичка)--3

1885
The marshal's widow (У предводительши)--
The fish (aka The burbot; Налим)--
The huntsman (Егерь)--
A malefactor (Злоумышленник)--2
The head of the family (Отец семейства)--
A dead body (Мертвое тело)--
The cook's wedding (Кухарка женится)--
Overdoing it (aka Overseasoned; Пересолил)--
Old age (Старость)--
Sorrow (Горе)--3
Mari d'Elle (aka Her husband)--
*The looking-glass (Зеркало)--
***
A trivial incident (Пустой случай)--3

1886
Art (Художество)--3
A blunder (Неудача)--
Children (Неудача)--
Misery (aka The Lament; Тоска)--2
An upheaval (Переполох)--3
The requiem (aka Panikhida; Панихида)--2
Anyuta (Анюта)--
*The witch (Ведьма)--
A joke (aka A little joke; Шуточка)--
*Agafya (aka Агафья)--
A story without an end (aka A nightmare; Кошмар)--
Grisha (Гриша)--
Love (Любовь)--
A gentleman friend (Знакомый мужчина)--
The privy councillor (Тайный советник)--
A day in the country (День за городом)--3
The chorus girl (Хористка)--3
A misfortune (aka A calamity; Несчастье)--
A trifle from life (Житейская мелочь)--3
Difficult people (Тяжелые люди)--
In the court (В суде)--
An incident (Событие)--
A work of art (Произведение искусства)--3
Vanka (Ванька)--2
On the road (На пути)--
*Easter eve (aka Easter night; Святою ночью)--
***
Hush! (Тссс!)--2
*The chemist's wife (Аптекарша)--

1887
*The beggar (Нищий)--
An inadvertence (aka A rash thing to do; Неосторожность)--
Verotchka (Верочка)--
Shrove Tuesday (Накануне поста)--
A bad business (Недоброе дело)--
Home (Дома)--
Typhus (Тиф)--
The Cossack (Казак)--
*Volodya (Володя)--
Happiness (aka Fortune; Счастье)--
Zinotchka (Зиночка)--
The doctor (Доктор)--
The runaway (Беглец)--
The cattle-dealers (Холодная кровь)--
In trouble (aka A misfortune); Беда)--
*The kiss (Поцелуй)--
Boys (Мальчики)--3
Kashtanka (Каштанка)--
A lady's story (aka Natalia Vladimirovna; Рассказ госпожи NN)--
***
*Enemies (Враги)--
*A problem (Задача)--
The lottery ticket (Выигрышный билет)--3
An adventure (Происшествие)--3
*The father (Отец)--
*A happy ending (Хороший конец)--

1888
A story without a title (Без заглавия)--
*The steppe (Степь: История одной поездки)--
Lights (Огни)--

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a special talent to be snarky and poignant at the same time. Granted, Chekhov doesn't attempt this in every story, but when he does, it's awesome. And even when he doesn't, it's still pretty sweet.

A couple of decisions by the translators early on made me furrow my brow, but it's hard to be a translator, and they at least explained the reasons for their decisions in the notes. Overall, there weren't too many places that jarred on my sensibilities as an English reader.

[Asyoulikeit · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the last month and counting I've been/am in a reading frenzy for all of Chekhov's stories (officially selected for 'complete works' or not. not this edition, savoring every minute of it. And, while I still love the works of Turgenev for aesthetic reasons, I'm pleased to find - in my latest pile of delights - the playfulness, diversity, and the actuality of a very soulful charmer

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of Chekhov's early short stories! One can clearly see the progression in his writing style from the first story to the last. By the way, the last two stories - The Steppe and Light - were well worth wading through. Also, memorable are The Cattle Dealers, Kashtanka, The Privy Councillor, Mari d'Elle, The Huntsman, etc., etc.

[an · Rating 3 out of 5]

anton chekov punya gaya na....

walo dia dah punya gaya -lucu yang naas- ya... klo itu yg boleh rhe deskripsikan tentang tulisan na. tapi memang... seperti itulah itu hidup pada jaman na -mungkin-

bukan hidup, tapi bertahan hidup.
begitulah...

[Ofer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually read the Hebrew translation of the shorts stories Chekhov published between 1880 and 1888. It's a mix bag and could use with a short introduction for each story, giving the reader a perspective into the culture in which the stories were written.

[Lee Thackston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very well written, some a bit boring.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat uneven stories and sketches, but his skill is obvious, some entries are amazing, and it's interesting to see his aesthetic developing.

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading 2 very long books, I feel like I need to shorten it up a little bit.

[Beatrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

En tryllebindende forfatter med min sans for kynisk humor. Jeg er ikke færdig med Tjekhov.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chekhov is BRILLIANT! btw, I'm now convinced my family is Russian.

[Marci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love his characters, but disappointed in many of the endings. Did not finish book.

[Rat Boy Hedonist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is he the master of short stories? Yes.