Book: Selected Stories by Anton Chekhov

Author: Anton Chekhov

Publications: Rupa Publications

Price: Rs. 140

Pages: 137

Plot: This book is a part of the series called ‘The Masterpieces of World Fiction.’ The series brings the most loved short stories by famous authors like Chekhov, Maupassant, Kipling, Wilde and many more. These stories are compiled by Terry O’ Brien. Terry O’ Brien is a prolific writer, a language and communication skills teacher (He has experience of teaching in India and abroad and also headed a college under the University of Delhi) and a professional motivational speaker.

This book is a collection of 16 short stories written by Anton Chekhov. The stories are mostly 3-4 pages long, there are only few which are longer than this, say 5-6 pages. The stories are randomly compiled, there is no particular theme in which the stories are collated. And I think this is one of the positive points of the book as it kept me captivated.

The title and succinct description of these 16 stories are given below:

1. Bet: Which is better, a death penalty or life in prison? This intriguing question is the crux of this story.
2. The Lottery Ticket: A couple who find out that they have won a lottery ticket. In the excitement, they started fantasizing what they will do the money. How did their life change after that? Read the story to find it out.
3. A day in the Country: A story of two orphaned children and one homeless cobbler. Their love for each other is immense, and how they show it is what the story is about.
4. The Vendetta: A story of an old widow who lives with her son and a dog
5. Lady with the Lapdog: A casual love affair between Anna and Dmitri took an expected turn in this story. Expected because they both are married to someone else.
6. Fat and Thin: Two grown-up men, who once were school mates meet after years, and a lot has changed since then.
7. An Enigmatic Nature: A budding author meets a pretty lady on a railway carriage. The lady asks the author to write about her, and that’s when the author gets to know a lot about her life.
8. The Album: A man received an album as a reward, but these rewards have a different meaning for children.
9. In the Graveyard: This story is set in a graveyard, depicting an incident on how a man is remembered after his death.
10. The Fish: Bunch of men tries to catch an eelpout, and it is not facile.
11. The Witch: A man calls her wife witch, because of her playful interaction with other men.
12. Love: Love is not what we see conventionally in movies and love stories, it is a lot about courtship and compromise.
13. Husband: A husband who is searching for jealousy as he watches his wife dancing merrily with another soldier.
14. On the Road: A man meets a woman in a travellers’ room. And this meeting makes him revise and review some of his vehemently held opinions.
15. Difficult People: There is a conflict between a young boy and his father. A relatable story a family struck by conflict.
16. Excellent People: A tragic story of brother and sister who are highly intelligent but are drifted apart because of some intellectual difference.

My Views: This is my first Anton Chekhov read, and what I can tell you about the author is that he was a proficient observer. His stories revolve around the simplest of incidences, which one can come across in their daily lives. It felt like as if I was on a walk with the author while he is randomly observing these people and their interactions.

Isn’t it said that there is a lot more meaning in little things and small incidences? These stories will remind you of that. The author finds beauty in unknown, in those occurrences which are never considered beautiful. There is nothing new about these short stories, I have read many stories like these, but yet they are effective. They will leave a mark in your memories.

The stories start, without any character development, he starts the stories in a click and then end them with an open ending, leaving the readers free to imagine an infinity of possibilities. He will leave you wondering about the characters. What happened after that? These will be the questions which will keep you fantasizing.

I loved 3 stories, Bet, Fat and Thin and The Album. The first story grabbed my attention instantly, the second one left me thinking about the duality of human interactions, and the third one made me smile and reminded me to see things with innocence, love and joy, not pride and stubbornness.

Overall I would say I liked this collection of short stories.

Recommendations: If you are looking for a light read then go for this one. The book will compel you to find beauty in familiar and mundane experiences.

Ratings: 3/5

If you are looking forward to reading more short stories, then here is a book review of one of the Saddat Hasan Manto short stories. Give it a read.

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