Find today’s 9,960 word here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/162.html Travis review: I wonder if Chekhov wrote this story thinking about contradiction or at least a conflict within himself by being both a doctor/man of scientist and a writer/artist. The married couple are named Osip and Olga, both four letter names that start with the letter O. Osip is “a …
Please find today’s 18,092 mini-novella here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/161.html Travis review: The Wife is a story told from the first person point of view of a wealthy malcontent, much like a Russian Ebeneezer Scrooge. It is great that Pavel Andreitch does not recognize this. He is estranged from his wife, although she occupies the bottom floor of their …
Find today’s 40,842 word novel here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/160.html Travis review: In The Duel, Chekhov tries to cram all of humanity into a single novella and largely succeeds. Like Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy, well realized characters representing different sides of Russian culture are presented, but with less words than Chekhov’s contemporaries. Set in a small seaside town, Chekhov …
Find today’s 5840 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/159.html Travis Review: I’m not sure if this would be considered an example of history repeating itself or how the repetitive nature of circumstance causes similar reactions. Chekhov sets up the tale with two powerful men talking. Dyudya is a local peasant who has become prosperous and Matvey Savitch is merchant …
Find today’s 5602 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/158.html Travis review: It is interesting that today’s story is named after one of the invalid soldiers and not titled “Sick Bay” or “Voyage Home.” While the story centers around Gusev and we see a few of his fever dreams, it is his fellow patient, Pavel Ivanitch, that says anything introspective …
Find today’s 6763 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/157.html Travis review: This a noir story. We have a medical assistant with a reputation of being a ” braggart and drunkard” crashing at an inn in the middle of a snow storm. If this were adapted into a modern story, the location might be a roadhouse with a couple rough …
Today’s 24,250 word novella here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/156.html Travis review: With Chekhov’s track record, a title like “A Dreary Story” should not turn off the reader. Misery is one of the most powerful stories I’ve read, and A Misfortune and Mire are also great. With over 24k words in this novella, it feels like Chekhov was trying to do what …
Continue reading “#156 A Dreary Story: From the Notebook of an Old Man”
Find today’s 4853 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/155.html. Travis review In the “A Problem” Chekhov dealt with a spoiled aristocrat who felt entitled to exploit his uncles’ credit, but he knew he was bad or a criminal as he calls himself. In this story, we have a princess who believes she is a good person and cannot …
Find today’s 2859 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/154.html Travis Review This is one of my favorite stories. It is the story that turned me onto Chekhov many years ago. It is a mixture of many great things. It’s an intellectual argument about the cruelty of imprisonment as well as a the futility of money and pursuing knowledge without …
Find today’s 2662 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/153.html Today’s fantasy story is quite funny. We have a poor cobbler who feels persecuted by the weight of his poverty and constant humiliation. At first Fydor comes off like a cantankerous, petty fool, but when he walks out on the street he is teased by the public. “Students, officers, …