Tales of Chekhov (13 Volume Set) [Paperback]

Anton Chekhov (Author), Constance Garnett (Translator), Richard Ford (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2006

In honour of its 35th anniversary, Ecco is proud to reissue Constance Garnett's 1929 13–volume Tales of Chekhov, heralded as one of the finest Chekhov translations ever.

Anton Chekhov's short fiction is admired and cherished by readers the world over. This stunning boxed set brings together the largest, most comprehensive selection of his stories, all full of humor, truth, and vast insight. Included are the familiar masterpieces–"The Kiss," "The Darling," and "The Lady with the Dog"––as well as several brilliant but lesser–known tales such as "A Blunder," "Hush!," and "Champagne." The entire collection is introduced by Richard Ford's perceptive essay "Why We Like Chekhov. while each individual volume includes a brief reminiscence on the meaning of Chekhov from a celebrated author, among them Nadine Gordimer, Susan Sontag, Harold Brodkey, Cynthia Ozick, and Russell Banks. Amidst a sea of Chekhov translations, Constance Garnett, who brought Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Turgenev to the English–speaking world, has a style particularly suited to Chekhov's prose. Her benchmark translations enable readers to immerse themselves in his world, experiencing the breadth of his talent in one voice.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born in Taganrog, Ukraine in 1860. First published in the eighteen-eighties, he was a celebrated figure in Russia by the time of his death in 1904, but he remained relatively unknown internationally until the years after World War I, when his works were translated into English. His essays, plays, poetry, and short fiction have been translated into countless languages and he is remembered today as a master of the modern short story.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ecco (October 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061153869
• ISBN-13: 978-0061153860
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 7.8 x 5.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #433,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good contents, but poor paper quality and printing, December 29, 2006

By 

zhiyi (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Chekhov (13 Volume Set) (Paperback)

Noet that the translator is Constance Garnett (translated around 1920 or earlier). All the stories in this collection can be found in public domain.

Pros:
1. contains 201 stories and short novels. The most comprehensive collections so far.
2. beautiful book cover

Cons:
1. very poor paper quality, similar to newspaper
2. very poor printing. The edition is obvioulsy very old, and its font and printing are ugly.

If you do not really want such a complete collection, I suggest you to consider two modern library hardcover books:
1. Early Short Stories, 1883-1888. ISBN 0679603174.
2. Later Short Stories, 1888-1903. ISBN 0679603166.
The two books contain 112 stories and the third book from modern library "Longer Stories from the Last Decade" (ISBN 0679606637) contains 11 short novels. The translator of the three books are the same, Constance Garnett.

If you do not want to collect the books, but only want to read Chekhov's stories, I recommend the following two books by award-winning translators Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky (translated in 199x and 200x):

Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov, Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky
ISBN-10: 0553381008

The Complete Short Novels (Everyman's Library) (Hardcover)
by Anton Chekhov, Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator), Richard Pevear (Translator)
ISBN-10: 1400040493.

Hope it helps.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strongly recommended to fans of Garnett's translations, December 30, 2006

By 

James Hulbert "author of A Kiss Before You Le... - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tales of Chekhov (13 Volume Set) (Paperback)

X. Zhang makes valuable points, but let me file what may be a minority report. Granted, the paper on which this edition is printed appears to be disappointingly pulpy--we'll have to see how it ages. But its 1920s typeface and layout are very generous and easy on these ageing eyes of mine. It's unfortunate that the publisher has not yet made any pages from the books available through Amazon's 'search inside this book' feature.... Readers considering the Modern Library volumes, which I used to own and which can now be hard to find, should keep in mind that that edition is a reduced selection, whereas the Ecco set includes all of the stories translated by Garnett; an advantage of the ML edition, though, is that it's generally organised chronologically (following the order in which Chekhov composed the stories), whereas the Ecco reproduces the organisation of Garnett's original volumes of translation. For me, all things considered, the Ecco edition is probably the one purchase in 2006 that's given me the most pleasure. But it may not be right choice for others....

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE OF LITERATURE, October 12, 2008

By 

Kay's Husband (Virginia, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tales of Chekhov (13 Volume Set) (Paperback)

I started reading the Russian writers--Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Turgenev, Gogol, and Chekhov--in the mid-1960s with Anton Chekhov becoming my favorite of all. Anyone developing an appreciation of Chekhov's writings will be overjoyed with this astounding boxed set of 13 books.

I've read all the reviews here and have to disagree with any that do not find praise and pleasure in these 13 volumes being back in print again. Even the colorful, striking painting by Vasily Ivanovich Surikov covering the 13 spines of the books is an added attraction setting off this boxed set, visually announcing to readers that this is a unique set of books.

The first volume of Constance Black Garnett's volumes of Chekhov's writings was printed in 1916. By then she had already released translations of Turgenev's writings in 13 volumes, and 7 volumes of Dostoyevsky's plus translations of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and War and Peace. Almost anyone reading the works of Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, or Chekhov in the early years of the 20th century read them via her quality translations.

By 1984, Echo Press began to re-publish all 201 of Garnett's translations. These 13 volumes represent "the most comprehensive collection of Chekhov stories in what is still the best complete translation available in English." (The Atlantic Monthly). At the price of $150 dollars, even without Amazon's generous discount, this boxed set is one of the best bargains I've seen in the near 50 years reading and collecting books.

It is evident whoever put this set back into existence not only has a love of literature, but has great appreciation of Anton Chekhov's writings. Though I took several comparative literature courses in college, cannot recall Chekhov being included. Since I have purchased books by Anton Chekhov since the middle 1960s, can safely say his writings are today both much more difficult and much more expensive when found than ever before. We very much need a collection of his writings such as this to remain in print.

A reader finding any fault whatever in this modestly price boxed set has little understanding of the dilemma of anyone seeking to own a set of Anton Chekhov's writings. These 13 volumes are without any doubt the best we've ever seen in our lifetime or probably will ever see. This is a truly magnificent publishing venture to be celebrated.

Get them before they are no longer extant. A boxed set of these 13 volumes now sits on my home library shelves.

Semper Fi.