A Chekhov Circus

A guide to the short stories of Anton Chekhov

Category: First appeared in print in 1898

  • No. 18 – Ionitch

    This is one of the most accomplished and satisfying of Chekhov’s stories, a portrait of a pinched, gouty man, Ionitch, whose pride prevents him from having anything but a pinched, gouty life. Dmitri Ionitch Startsev, a doctor new in town, is welcomed into the home of the local gentry, the slightly absurd Turkin family. The…

  • No. 158 – A Doctor’s Visit

    A young woman languishes in the unhealthy environment of a factory town.

  • No. 3 – (tie) The Man in a Case/Gooseberries/About Love

    These stories are masterpieces, linked by theme and a narrative scaffolding, but essentially independent of each other. The subject of this triptych could be said to be life itself, but that’s an absurdity – still, absurd or not, it feels fair and accurate to say it. These tales really are that rich and deep. But,…