About Chekhov

Thirteen ways of looking at Anton Chekhov. Read on…

The Stories, Ranked

Somebody had to do it! A bottom-to-top ranking. Get the list…

Reading Chekhov in the Shadow of Putin

Are there any political implications to reading Chekhov in the midst of Russia’s inhumane war on Ukraine? […]

No. 102 – The Darling

“The Darling” is one of a bare handful of stories that Chekhov wrote in the last five years of his life, when he was pretty much an invalid because of tuberculosis. But those few, late-era stories […]

No. 193 – Love

I have kvetched here and there about the bland, lazy titles Chekhov gave his stories. He just seemed to slap a single word at the top of the page and let it stand – “Love,” “Boys,” “Home,” “Ladies,” “Boots,” “Drunk,” “A Mystery,” […]

No. 56 – Old Age

A celebrated architect, Uzelkov, returns after twenty years to his hometown, where, though he has been retained to oversee a restoration of the local church, he has been generally forgotten. Oh–and not only did […]

No. 183 – An Incident

If you like a surprise ending involving dead kittens, this is the story for you. […]

No. 151 – Uprooted

Chekhov was such a productive and rapid writer, it’s probably not surprising that, from time to time, he echoed himself. In the case of “Uprooted,” the source material was barely a year old: “Easter Eve.” […]

No. 16 – Agafya

“Agafya” is a portrait of rural life pressured by Russia’s changing economy. It is set in a village where justice is served via a peasant court that metes out punishment in the medieval fashion, with floggings and […]

No. 34 – In the Graveyard

As early as 1884, Chekhov was busy hating on actors, or at least finding their profession miserable. It’s really a wonder to me that he ever wanted to be a playwright. This story, about a miserable and basically pathetic […]