Scan barcode
martee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kavitari's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
lesliesp's review against another edition
I have only read 2 of the novellas so far, but this is a collection I will definitely return to. (I would rate The Steppe 5/5.) I'm really looking forward to reading some of his short stories.
kevinclouther's review against another edition
5.0
Pretty sad there isn't any more Chekhov fiction capably translated into English. May have to learn Russian.
p_florence's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
sbbarnes's review against another edition
2.0
Yet another one where I have a hard time coming up with a rating. I read a different volume - late short stories in German in an edition made before ISBN numbers and all that. It's not easy reading. All the stories in my volume were just the sadness of being Russian. If you're rich you're either secretly losing all your money or idle and depressed; if you're poor you're a farmer and an alcoholic. If the rich want to help the poor, the poor automatically behave like animals because they're uneducated alcoholics and the rich are naive idealists. If you fall in love you will either be ridiculously unhappy about two days after the wedding or you will be crossed in love and miserable and alone for the rest of your life. It's not happy reading, is what I'm saying, and there is a lot of thematic repetition.
Highlights: My Life, which had some real in-depth exploration of the whole idle wealthy vs. farmer issue as well as the unhappiness in love aspect. It was kind of nice that the narrator wanted to be a worker just because that was what he felt like and he wasn't wrong about it being the right thing for him, even if his wife was wrong about wanting to live in the country.
The Lady With the Dog: One of several midlife crisis stories Chekhov wrote, but a somewhat bearable one. I liked the whole idea of the relationship destroying the guy's cynicism even though the narrator was still relentlessly cynical about the chances of future happiness.
In der Schlucht/ In the Valley? No clue on English title. Probably my favorite story in the book, follows the life of a wealthy family in a small town, with useless sons but two helpful daughters-in-law, one of whom turns out to be a psychopath who murders babies. Also about how the dad slowly goes insane. Really a lot darker in terms of content than in terms of style which is just like gentle pastoral comedy, and then BOOM, child death.
Herzchen was also cute, if weird. Followed Olga, who could only have an identity if she had a partner. She married twice and had one lover, but whenever she didn't have a husband she lost all sense of self and all opinions and everything. In the end she found a kid to mother. I presume when the kid grew up and left, she died miserably.
To be honest, those were the only four really memorable stories to me. There were a few that featured the same characters, but they were kind of meh in that the characters were just framing devices for stories about other stuff. As for remaining content, see above - agrarian misery, idle wealth, unhappy relationships and the expending gap between parts of Russian society.
Highlights: My Life, which had some real in-depth exploration of the whole idle wealthy vs. farmer issue as well as the unhappiness in love aspect. It was kind of nice that the narrator wanted to be a worker just because that was what he felt like and he wasn't wrong about it being the right thing for him, even if his wife was wrong about wanting to live in the country.
The Lady With the Dog: One of several midlife crisis stories Chekhov wrote, but a somewhat bearable one. I liked the whole idea of the relationship destroying the guy's cynicism even though the narrator was still relentlessly cynical about the chances of future happiness.
In der Schlucht/ In the Valley? No clue on English title. Probably my favorite story in the book, follows the life of a wealthy family in a small town, with useless sons but two helpful daughters-in-law, one of whom turns out to be a psychopath who murders babies. Also about how the dad slowly goes insane. Really a lot darker in terms of content than in terms of style which is just like gentle pastoral comedy, and then BOOM, child death.
Herzchen was also cute, if weird. Followed Olga, who could only have an identity if she had a partner. She married twice and had one lover, but whenever she didn't have a husband she lost all sense of self and all opinions and everything. In the end she found a kid to mother. I presume when the kid grew up and left, she died miserably.
To be honest, those were the only four really memorable stories to me. There were a few that featured the same characters, but they were kind of meh in that the characters were just framing devices for stories about other stuff. As for remaining content, see above - agrarian misery, idle wealth, unhappy relationships and the expending gap between parts of Russian society.
wshier's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the short stories a little bit more, but still fantastic.
brinalala's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
madsadstork's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
aweol's review against another edition
relaxing
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0