Gold Mine Processing Manager Kelly Noble recommends Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
I am a huge fan of Russian literature, so I received to review Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov this month. Chekhov is a fantastic writer who captures the Russian people like no other. His focus in these pieces is everyday Russians: hunters, village folks, students, hospital patients, and doctors. His stories contain a religious overtone, detailed descriptions of religious ceremonies, and close family ties.
There is a feeling of authenticity when reading Chekhov. He understands with clarity the people he is writing about.
Anton Chekhov comes from peasant stock. He grew up in the town of Taganrog, Russia. His grandfather was a serf, and his father a grocer. He had three brothers and a sister, all of whom were close. They attended Greek schools where he and his brothers obtained an Orthodox religious education, which may explain Chekhov’s detailed understanding of church figures and ceremonies. As he grew older, Anton followed his older brother’s path and studied medicine in Moscow.
In The Huntsman short story, Chekhov describes a man hunting for game. Out of nowhere, a young woman enters the scene seeking a conversation with the hunter. It turns out this young woman is the man’s wife, and she is trying to get the man to come home. The hunter seems uninterested in the wife or his child. He claims he married against his will, and the marriage is in his name only to satisfy his employer. As quickly as the story starts, it ends. The break ends, and the hunter moves on to chase after the wild game, leaving the young woman behind.
In Ward No.66, Chekhov writes of a doctor visiting patients in the local hospital’s mental ward. The doctor speaks to the patients and finds one highly intelligent. As the story progresses, the doctor is seen by the town as being ill, and in the end, he is locked in the hospital. Once judgment is passed and you are designated a patient, there is no escape. Chekhov may be trying to illustrate the narrow degree to which sane and insane people are classified.
Religion is in full display in the story, The Student. Chekhov tells the story of Peter’s denial of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. In this story, a young seminary student stands around the fire with two women. He tells them the story of how Peter was standing around a similar fire on a similar wintry night. How he denied the savior three times when he was accused of being one of his followers. Themes of religion seem prevalent in Chekhov’s writing.
This collection of story stories is easy to read and captures the true nature of the Russian people. I have found no other Russian writer who writes of authentic Russia. There is a feeling of authenticity to Chekhov’s writing. These short stories are an excellent introduction to Russian Literature.
Request Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov, through interlibrary loan, here.
