Forty StoriesIf any writer can be said to have invented the modern short story, it is Anton Chekhov. It is not just that Chekhov democratized this art form; more than that, he changed the thrust of short fiction from relating to revealing. And what marvelous and unbearable things are revealed in these Forty Stories. The abashed happiness of a woman in the presence of the husband who abandoned her years before. The obsequious terror of the official who accidentally sneezes on a general. The poignant astonishment of an aging Don Juan overtaken by love. Spanning the entirety of Chekhov's career and including such masterpieces as "Surgery," "The Huntsman," "Anyuta," "Sleepyhead," "The Lady With the Pet Dog," and "The Bishop," this collection manages to be amusing, dazzling, and supremely moving—often within a single page. |
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... thing—that people should live in the utmost freedom, perhaps because very early in his own life he had acquired all ... things that had happened to him, he lifted his arms in mock horror and exclaimed: “If you only knew what went on at ...
... thing—that people should live in the utmost freedom, perhaps because very early in his own life he had acquired all ... things that had happened to him, he lifted his arms in mock horror and exclaimed: “If you only knew what went on at ...
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... thing is not beautiful, and that is us. How little there is in us of justice and humility, and how poorly we understand the meaning of patriotism. A drunken, worn-out, good-for-nothing husband loves his wife and children, but what good ...
... thing is not beautiful, and that is us. How little there is in us of justice and humility, and how poorly we understand the meaning of patriotism. A drunken, worn-out, good-for-nothing husband loves his wife and children, but what good ...
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... things were called by their proper names, then Trifon Semyonovich would be called by another name than Trifon Semyonovich: he would be given a name usually reserved for horses and cows. Frankly, Trifon Semyonovich is nothing more than a ...
... things were called by their proper names, then Trifon Semyonovich would be called by another name than Trifon Semyonovich: he would be given a name usually reserved for horses and cows. Frankly, Trifon Semyonovich is nothing more than a ...
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... things going, me lad?” “I only took one,” the boy muttered. “I picked it off the ground.” Trifon Semyonovich turned his attention to the girl. “How are you, my little darling?” She found herself paying even more passionate attention to ...
... things going, me lad?” “I only took one,” the boy muttered. “I picked it off the ground.” Trifon Semyonovich turned his attention to the girl. “How are you, my little darling?” She found herself paying even more passionate attention to ...
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... thing, my dears, that you don't know the Eighth Commandment. I'll have to give you a lesson. Did he teach you to steal, my beauty? Why so silent, my little cherub? You have to answer! Speak! Keep your mouth shut—that means you agree ...
... thing, my dears, that you don't know the Eighth Commandment. I'll have to give you a lesson. Did he teach you to steal, my beauty? Why so silent, my little cherub? You have to answer! Speak! Keep your mouth shut—that means you agree ...
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