Find today’s 7670 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/142.html Travis review: While there are many parts of this story that I like, I found it disappointing in the end. In a case of mistaken identity, Ryabovitch, a shy, “little officer in spectacles, with sloping shoulders, and whiskers like a lynx’s” is accidentally kissed by a woman in dark …
Find today’s 2503 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/141.html Travis review: Today’s story reminds me of a scandal that broke out in a Los Angeles suburb, The City of Bell. Avdeyev is a merchant and a bank auditor, although he signs papers he doesn’t read and even admitted to overhearing the arrested managers of the failed bank bragging about …
Find today’s 2389 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/.html Travis review: This is the story about a slob who likes the idea of being multilingual and believes himself to be superior to his tutor, but his ideals versus reality are very far apart. Typically when Chekhov has a character being cheated by wily peasants (Malingers) or used selfishly (Anyuta) I …
Find today’s 7162 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/138.html Travis review: This is a long story about a father and son hauling eight vans of cattle across Russia and the bribes they must pay to the railroad stationmasters, guards and workers to get from one stop to the next. I personally felt offended reading this, but for Malahin, the …
Find today’s 2424 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/137.html Travis review: In today’s story, Chekhov tells a tale of misfortune through the voice of a landlord. It could be summarized as the slow downfall of a family after the mother’s death. This story stood out to me for it’s writing style. Long, blocky paragraphs with summaries and foreshadowing. …
Continue reading “#137 The Old House (A Story told by a Houseowner)”
Find today’s 2687 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/136.html Travis review: What is there to say about today’s story. It is the tale of a spoiled, self-centered brat. He has forged a check in his uncle’s name and lives a libertine-type lifestyle. Not unlike has-been celebrities who are penniless from a wild lifestyle and beg forgiveness, only to …
Find today’s 2930 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/135.html Travis review: Chekhov again uses a child’s innocent perspective to convey a sad, heartbreaking tale. In this case the story is framed through seven year old Pashka’s perspective. He does not understand that in the morning he will lose a limb. Although it isn’t clearly stated, it seems the …
Find today’s 2436 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/134.html Travis review A free ride may not always be the best one to take. This is a story about a young man taking a ride to the train station via nepotism. That is, he is getting a free ride on the postal cart because his uncle is the postmaster. …
Find today’s 1841 story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/133.html Travis review: Today’s story is a black comedy. The premise is simple, a cuckolded husband plans to purchase a gun to kill his wife, her lover, and himself. Chekhov pens some of his most graphic lines as Fyodor enters the gun shop “…but already in imagination he saw three bloodstained …
Please find today’s 3343 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/132.html Written in 1887, this story is concerned with the human devastation on the environment. Just before reading this story I read a news report about holes that have been appearing in Siberia and seem to be happening as an effect of global warming. Like yesterday, I found the title choice interesting. …