Customer Reviews

The Kiss and Other Stories (Penguin Classics)

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Chekhov's achievement as a short story writer has rarely, if ever, been equalled, and certainly never surpassed. This collection, together with its comapanion volumes "The Party and Other Stories", "The Fiancee and other Stories", "The Duel and Other Stories" (all translated by Ronald Wilks), and "Lady with Lapdog and Other Stories" (translated by David Magarshack), all in the Penguin edition, should keep the discerning reader happy for an entire lifetime!

Chekhov is often regarded as a dreamy writer, dealing with the themes of regret and loss in subtle shades of pastel. Certainly, he could often be very delicate indeed. But Chekhov had a far wider range than is generally acknowledged: he could paint with primary colours as well. This particular collection, for instance, contains two of his finest stories - "Peasants" and "In the Gully" - which are both deeply shocking. The latter story has a horrific climax that would not be out of place in a novel by Zola.

I cannot think of any other writer who could write stories such as these, and also something as poetic and sad as "The Bishop": here, the protagonist, of peasant stock, is dying, and he feels alienated even from his own mother, who holds him in awe. It is a profoundly melancholy story, and one of the most moving things I have read.

In each of these stories, there seems to be enough material for entire novels. It is not possible to describe adequately in a few lines the sheer variety and depth of human experience depicted in these stories. Few writers have depicted humanity with such understanding and compassion.