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No. 19 – Three Years
For a reader attempting to dig through the entire 13 volumes of Constance Garnett’s translations of Chekhov’s stories and novellas, “Three Years” is an extraordinarily satisfying conclusion to the first volume. A novella, it is not only the best and richest story in the volume, it also touches on many of the themes and motifs…
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No. 43 – The Two Volodyas
A portrait of an impulsive young woman, Sofya Lvovna, who has married a dashing playboy many years older than her. The two Volodyas of the title are Vladimir Nikititch, otherwise known as Colonel Yagitch, Sofya’s 50-something husband, and Vladimir Mihalovitch, her childhood friend and former/lingering crush. (Volodya is a nickname for Vladimir.) Having married Colonel…
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No. 88 – Talent
A lazy artist summering in the countryside seduces a young woman who wants to escape to the big city.
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No. 37 – (tie) Polinka/Anyuta
These two brief sketches focus on wretched love affairs. In the Constance Garnett translations of Chekhov, they appear side-by-side, and as a reader you can’t help but see them as a single piece of fiction, even though they stand completely separate, and were written months apart. Of the two, “Anyuta” is the harsher, more painful…
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No. 29 – Ariadne
This is a brilliant story about a romantic, shallow young man, Shamohin, who is lovesick for his beautiful neighbor, the cold and manipulative (and equally shallow) Ariadne. Shamohin trails pathetically after Ariadne and her lover to Italy, and even lends them money that neither he nor his father can afford to give away. Having longed…
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No. 78 – The Trousseau
In a spooky house, a mother and daughter work feverishly to create a trousseau for a wedding that will never occur.
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No. 74 – The Helpmate
Caught out in an affair, a woman nevertheless doesn’t want to grant her husband a divorce.
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No. 102 – The Darling
The life story of a woman who assumes the identities of the people she falls in love with.
A Chekhov Circus
A guide to the short stories of Anton Chekhov
A Chekhov Circus 