Review: Short-stories by Anton Chekhov

Short-stories are a difficult to review on the whole, even at the best times.  In my case, I have traveled thousands of miles (kilometers) as of late, it has been many months since I read this work, I have read about 10 books since these stories, and I didn't write down any notes!  This 'review' is an impossibility and it had been daunting for me, which is why I left it until last in my reviewing backlog. 

I'm a big fan of the Russians greats, which I think I have documented here quite often: Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Nabokov, Turgenev, Pasternak, etc.  I was lucky to have picked up a few of Chekhov's stories in Nottingham when I was traveling around; I thought that it would be a great idea to read a few of them on trains or before bed or at other moments where I didn't have very much time to read something seriously.   I had never read any short-stories by Chekhov before, but since he is well known as one of the masters of the short-story, I was excited to plow through them.

I read somewhere that one thing that many people struggle with is Chekhov's particular style in regards to the 'message' located within each story.  I found that the reviews I had read were correct - Chekhov leaves it up to the reader to decide which lessons to glean from most of his stories.  I believe he tells a story to have told it and once it's completed, he moves onto the next not really caring what readers THINK of it.  Chekhov was a physician before he ever became a writer and I could theorize that he just began to write for sheer enjoyment and not with a greater purpose in mind.  I don't pretend to know if I would be right in making this assumption, but it seems to make sense after reading these 24 stories.

I also agree that he seems to embody the Russian way of life (granted, I am fairly ignorant in a very good portion of their history), preferring to focus on common people as opposed to the aristocracy and 'elite' of society.  When I think back upon the stories many months after reading them, I can FEEL various scenes in the stories and I think that's indicative of a good writer.  I will definitely re-read some of these stories in the future and make substantial notes on my feelings about each one, and which ones are my favourites.  I'll now just present a list of which stories were involved in my edition (along with a small amount of quotations), more for my own benefit than anything else.  Would love to hear what you think of Chekhov's short stories or his only novel, The Shooting Party.

1.       Overseasoned

2.       The Night Before Easter

“why is it that even in the presence of great happiness, a man cannot forget his grief?”

“when a man is tired and drowsy he thinks that nature, too, is in the same condition.”

3.       At Home

“No doubt that is one of the laws of society – the less an evil is understood the more bitterly and harshly it is attacked.”

“The more enlightened a man is the more he is given to reflection and hair-splitting; the more undecided he is, the more full of scruples, and the more timidly he approaches a task.”

4.       Champagne

5.       The Malefactor

6.       Murder Will Out

7.       The Trousseau

8.       The Decoration

9.       The Man in a Case

“How many wrong and foolish deeds are committed in our country towns because we are bored!”

10.   Little Jack

11.   Dreams

12.   The Death of an Official

13.   Agatha

14.   The Beggar

15.   Children

16.   The Troublesome Guest

17.   Not Wanted

18.   The Robbers

19.   Lean and Fat

20.   On the Way

21.   The Head Gardener’s Tale

22.   Hush!

23.   Without a Title

24.   In the Ravine

Other Stories | R.L. Stevenson

I have finished the 'other stories' included in my R.L. Stevenson book, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories". I've read "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" twice previously, and it's still possible that I'll give it another read. I'll present a brief synopsis of each of the short-stories to the reader, who could pick up any number of editions of Stevenson short-stories, or a few in isolation.

The Bottle Imp - a story about an imp in a bottle, who grants the owner any number of wishes he/she would like to have. However, if the possessor of the bottle dies while in ownership, that person is confined to hell for eternity. As such, each owner is liable to get rid of the bottle while in his/her possession and find a new owner - who must pay a sum less than what it was sold to them from the previous owner. What happens when that sum falls to 1 cent? Find out.

Markheim - about a man who burglarizes a pawn shop and confronts the devil. He ultimately has to make a choice regarding the morality or lack thereof, of his life.

The Beach of Falesa (see previous post)

Thrawn Janet - a wife of a parishioner who dies suddenly after a dark man passes through Ireland, believed to be an apparition. The wife comes back as a ghost and had an encounter with her holy former-husband.

The Isle of Voices - A man, intrigued by his father-in-law's never ending source of 'new' gold coins, travels with him to the isle of voices to find out how these coins came to be. He asks to return to the isle to collect some coins for himself. Whilst in transit to the island, the father-in-law turns into a giant and leaves him in the middle of the ocean. Eventually, the man finds the island (a place where people move about unseen, where only voices are heard). There's an interesting twist at the end, which I will not divulge.

Will O' The Mill - a story about a boy who dreams of what it's like to travel down the river into the valley, away from his hometown. When he admits this to a traveller staying at his inn, this traveller convinces him that a simple life without want of a change of scenery, is the key to happiness.

The Bodysnatcher - medical students who work for a man who brings them cadavers to dissect, eventually dig up the grave of a woman and realize they've dug up something they did not anticipate.

Providence and the Guitar - a story about what it means to be 'an artist' and why choosing the path of something you love is more important than choosing what society respects.

The Enchantress - a story about a woman who enchants a beggar who has lost all his wealth in a casino. He falls in love with her and she takes advantage of him... but how?

Robert Louis Stevenson has a way of making you sit on the edge of your seat, reading as quickly as possible to get to the ending. The moral is often quite simple and often non-noteworthy, but the story in itself captivates. Adventure is never lacking and intrigue, mysticism and fables give the reader something that lasts in the mind.

The Beach of Falesa | R.L. Stevenson

Due to the unfortunately fast paced environment at Christmas time, I like to read a lot of short-stories. The thinking is, since I'm all over the place I may not have time to read full novels until the Christmas holiday officially starts. As such, I've put off reading "Crime and Punishment", the next book in our book club.

As you know, I've been reading quite a bit of Hemingway short-stories, but I decided to take a short break from them. Browsing one of my many book shelves, I came across some short-stories by Robert Louis Stevenson. The book's main draw is "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", which I've read twice. I've also read the first two short stories entitled "The Bottle Imp" and "Markheim", although I do not recall their plot lines.

The third story in this Reader's Digest version is "The Beach of Falesa" which is a 71 page narrative of a south sea trader. Mr. Whiltshire is an Englishman who comes to the island of Falesa, in order to trade with the natives. He arrives at the island and is told by a fellow sea trader, Case, that he should find a native wife. Instinctively, he chooses Uma and is wed the following day.

However, none of the natives will trade with Mr. Whiltshire, and he has no idea why as he doesn't speak the native tongue. Case translates for him, during a meeting with the village elders and finds out that he is "tabooed" - essentially tied to the devil in the minds of the natives. We later learn that the reason he is "tabooed" is due to his new wife, Uma. Case has withheld this information in translation; as it turns out, his approval of the marriage to Uma was a Machiavellian way to eliminate the competition of another trader.

A missionary then comes to the island, and details Case's dark history on the island. In the end, it is up to Mr. Whiltshire to deal with Case...

This was an interesting short-story, and illuminated the strengths and magic of Stevenson which is simply, to tell compelling stories. The language is sometimes tough, especially with the poor use of an island dialect, but overall the story flows very well for prose from the late 1800's. There are no moments of transcendent thought, but the adventure more than makes up for this fact. It is no secret to me why Stevenson's work has withstood the test of time, with children and adults alike.

The Metamorphosis | Franz Kafka

What can one say to a short story which begins like this:

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect." ?

I mean, really. This book is all about a young adult who wakes up and finds that he is a GIGANTIC insect. The story is about the trials and tribulations of said insect in coping with his family (who discover he's an insect), walking around in his room, eating, etc. And of course, it is also about his family (and servents) coping with having an insect for a son.

Now, it could have been made a little interesting by bringing almost anything from the outside world in (besides a boss and some tenants), but none of that exists. Nothing of a public reaction. Just an insect, inside a room, whilst people figure out to cope. While it was a fascinating concept, the book fell short of my expectations (which weren't that high).

I also have no quotes from this book besides the first line, as I did not feel compelled to write any down.