#151 The Party

Find today’s 12808 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/151.html  Travis review:  Today’s story concerns an unhappily married couple celebrating the husband’s names day party. The point of view is from the exhausted, pregnant wife who internally fumes at her husband while trying to maintain a cheerful, happy demeanor. There are probably dozens of reasons for it, but …

#150 Beauties

Find today’s 3356 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/150.html Travis review Chekhov’s 150th story deals with a man reminiscing about his two encounters with perfected human beauty and effect that it has on himself and men. At this point in Chekhov’s writing, he puts in many details about the environment including clothes, the weather and the minute …

#149 Lights

Please find today’s 15,773 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/149.html Travis review: We’ve been hit with back to back long story. Although a half the size of “The Steppe,” this story still took time to read. The point of “Lights,” at least from the engineer Ananyev, concerns a philosophical argument about the importance of living an engaged …

#148 The Steppe (The Story of a Journey)

Today’s novella comes in at 39,155 words. http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/148.html Travis review: This review took longer to come out than others. Not only was I traveling over the weekend (and have 7 out of the last 8 this summer which has affected the consistency of daily reviews), but the length of this story is tremendous compared to the …

#147 Sleepy

Find today’s 2327 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/147.html Travis review: This is ranks as one of Chekhov’s darkest stories. Perhaps the darkest of all as child abuse and sleep deprivation lead to horrible outcomes. Chekhov does a great job mixing Varka’s family situation that got her into such a horrible job through hallucinogenic dreams. I also see …

#146 A Story Without A Title

Find today’s 1673 word story: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/146.html Travis Review: This story reminds me of early Chekhov works where the twist at the end comes out like a punchline. That being said, there is a difference in his simpler early work and the detailed descriptions and layers of psychology in his later comical pieces. Although not nuanced, …

#145 A Lady’s Story

Find Chekhov’s last story (1762 words) from 1887 here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/145.html Travis review I could be wrong, but I believe this is the first time that Chekhov has written in the first person from a woman’s perspective. Most of his story’s are third person, the last first person POV was the Notes From the Underground send-up, story …

#144 Kashtanka

Please find the 7785 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/144.html Travis review: This is the second time that Chekhov has used an animal’s POV to tell a story. The last time it was from the point of view of kitten in a few sections from Who Was To Blame. This a full 7000-plus word story broken into seven …

#143 Boys

Find today’s 2440 work story here. http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/143.html Travis review: This story is full of childhood innocence and adventurous grand ideas. Chekhov sets the scene for the most perfect Russian family when not only the parents and siblings are excited about the Volodya’s return from school, but so is the dog. “Bow-wow!” barked the huge black dog, Milord, …

#142 The Kiss

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 …