Customer Reviews

Five Great Short Stories

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you want a short indroduction to Chekhov, this Dover Thrift Edition is a great value. This edition uses older translations because in order to offer such an unbelievable value, the editor must use text that is not copyright protected. I found the translations used to be readible and I enjoyed the character development. Chekhov is not O'Henry ... i.e, the stories in this book do not have tremendous plot development and surprise or ironic twists. Rather, he seeks to give a slice of life in the Tzarist Russsia of his day. Four of the stories are slices of life of fairly well off members of Russian society or, at least, Russian upper middle class. One, appropriately entitled "The Peasants" is indeed a story about the lives of peasants. I enjoyed all of the stories but, my favorite was "The Lady With the Toy Dog," which explored the age old phenomenon of extramarital affairs and the tragedy of forbidden love. Chekhov explores the chraracters' emotions, in this story, without being judgmental one way or the other. Another engaging story is "The Black Monk" which explores happiness in one's delusions as opposed to unhappiness in the real world (or was the main character's vision a delusion at all?). Like I say, the translations are not the latest and only five stories are included but this is a five star value. The book has made me interested (when I have more time) to explore a larger volume of Chekhov's stories so, this edition has fulfilled its task well.

I love Chekhov; this review has nothing to do with the value of his writing. It's with the Dover Thrift Edition. Two-thirds of the way through the book, around p. 72 or so, Chekhov ends and "Kubla Khan" or some other random poem begins (I don't have the book here with me and I've forgotten the poem by now). It's bizarre. I'm missing three stories and the end of a fourth. I'm sure this is just a freak mistake and most other copies won't have this flaw, but this particular book wasn't quite as useful to me as I had hoped. Unless I want to read "Kubla Khan."

For those who wonder what Anton Chekhov is about but don't like reading plays, Dover Thrift Edition's `Five Great Short Stories' is a good introduction to the universe of the Russian writer. Sure his short tales are not as good as his plays, namely "The Seagull", but they give a fair dimension of this style and interests.

And his interests lay rather in the development of the characters psyche than plots twists or an elaborated story. His stories are more about creating an atmosphere than drowning the characters into it. See the first story, for example, "The Black Monk". It is actually a study of the madness, or, for some, the portrait of a supernatural situation. It depends on which side you are coming from.

Another good example is "The Lady with the Toy Dog", probably my favorite Chekhov short story. The characters are so real and human that it is not impossible to suffer with them. Like in most of his work, the author tackles with sociological and psychological analyzes of the people he has created --and they end up being as a metaphor for all the human kind, be them Russian or not.

Once enjoying this book, the reader can move to more of the Russian author. There are plenty of short stories and wonderful plays to be discovered.

A good instroduction to Chekhov, for those who are not put off by terrible editing and some amusing failures at English. This whole series runs the gamut. The very old translations come off well enough to give a good picture of some of Chekhov's
best stories, hopefully whetting the appetite for more.

Chekhov's writing shines in this collection. The stories are nice and short--easy to read when you have 15-20 minutes to spare. If you like these, I recommend you read some of his short novels and of course, his four excellent plays.

One problem with this Dover edition is the footnotes refer back to previous identical footnotes. This stops the flow of reading because the reader has to page back. There's no reason not to just repeat the footnote. Chekhov presents even these long-named Russian characters as individuals with defined personalities. The plot is simple or nonexistent. It serves only as background for character development. I'd be reading along and all of a sudden stop dead by a thought so authentic and original that I'd have to highlight it. Then reread it. Then think about it. That's the singular trait which makes Chekhov a writer worth reading.

Great, here are 5 short stories. If you like this sort of thing, you'll be happy; if not, you'll be bogged down by the incredibly long Russian names and bored by the recurring themes of poor peasants, harsh life, etc. Not a great introduction to Chekhov. Read this only if you're a fan

The stories are good, but the names are long and confusing and also some stories become confusing with the choice of words chosen by the author. Overall, though, a good book.