Today’s story is 1314 words and is available here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/061.html Travis Review: Today’s story makes we think of a penniless Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian. Entitled and focused on the vanity of appearance over subsistence, Vanda ebbs and flows between confidence and humiliation. The world revolves around her as she feels that “the very horses and …
Find today’s 1995 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/060.html Travis Review Chekhov uses an unusual method to tell the story of a young man being emotionally manipulated by lawyer. Similar to Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” or Haruki Murakami’s short story “The Seventh Man,” a group of men are assembled and begin to tell each other personal stories, …
Today’s story is 1349 words and can be found here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/059.html Travis Review: It is interesting that Chekhov went with the title, “Ladies”, instead of something like “Backdoor Politics” or “Sneak” as job seeker and strategist Polzuhin is called. Fyodor Petrovitch, the director of elementary schools, has a job opening that will save a family …
See today’s 3452 word Easter story at http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/058.html Travis Review What excellent timing for this review to fall on Easter weekend. It was purely by chance. This first person account of a river crossing in order to attend Easter festivities is full of atmosphere that seems more creepy than celebratory. I’m not sure if Chekhov intended …
Find today’s 2522 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/057.html Travis Review: In this story, Chekhov writes a great character study of self-delusion. A hypersensitive, love drunk man of letters with a booming ego gives a first person account of his life from the ecstasy of writing a love letter to the present, his wedding night. It is …
Find today’s 1200 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/056.html Travis Review: Grisha is two years and eight months of age. This is not the first time we’ve read a Chekhov story about a young child, but this by far the youngest so far. Everything we see is through Grisha’s eyes and his limited knowledge and vocabulary. It seems …
Find today’s 5553 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/055.html Travis Review: Today’s story has a similar Chekhov theme of people misunderstanding each other. In this case it is between Kunin, a well off and ambitious permanent Rural Board member and a shabby, young priest in the district. This story is only seen through Kunin’s eyes as he judges …
Find today’s 4182 word story here http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/054.html Travis Review: This sad tale of adultery seems to hold a universal truth about some women’s attraction to condescending, scornful men. I was under the impression that what I’ve personally witnessed has been more of a late twentieth century American phenomenon, but the nineteenth century Russia also had cads …
Find today’s 1696 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/053.html Travis Review: The words can have such a profound impact on another that it can affect their lives forever. The joke that the narrator tells in the first person point of view is with four words: “I love you, Nadya!” The girl (we’re not sure of her age) is …
Find today’s 3373 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/052.html Travis Review Today’s story, like yesterday’s, starts off very Poesque with macabre atmosphere, dark rooms with flickering candle light, images of death and melancholy, and in this case, a suicide attempt. The story is also told in first person, which Chekhov doesn’t write in much (but Poe does.) After …