Fifty-Two Stories

(1883-1898)

By: Anton Chekhov, Richard Pevear - translator, Larissa Volokhonsky - translator

Narrated by: Jim Frangione

From the celebrated, award-winning translators of Anna Karenina and The Brothers Karamazov: a lavish volume of stories by one of the most influential short fiction writers of all time.
 
Anton Chekhov left an indelible impact on every literary form in which he wrote, but none more so than short fiction. Now, renowned translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky give us their renderings of fifty-two Chekhov stories. These stories, which span the complete arc of his career, reveal the extraordinary variety and unexpectedness of his work, from the farcically comic to the darkly complex, showing that there is no one single type of “Chekhov story.” They are populated by a remarkable range of characters who come from all parts of Russia and all walks of life, including landowners, peasants, soldiers, farmers, teachers, students, hunters, shepherds, mistresses, wives, and children. Taken together, they demonstrate how Chekhov democratized the form.
 
Included in this volume are tales translated into English for the first time, including “Reading” and “An Educated Blockhead.” Early stories such as “Joy,” “Anguish,” and “A Little Joke” sit alongside such later works as “The Siren,” “Big Volodya and Little Volodya,” “In the Cart,” and “About Love.” In its range, in its narrative artistry, and in its perceptive probing of the human condition, this collection promises profound delight.

Critic reviews

“A first-rate collection. . . . Pevear and Volokhonsky select stories—happily, one for each week of the year—that express that devotion to realism, even if sometimes broadly satirically. . . . Encounters between young and old, rich and poor, country and city people mark these stories. . . . It’s a marvel of imagination. A welcome gathering of work, some not often anthologized, by an unrivaled master of the short story form.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Refreshing phrases

Bravo! This new collection of 52 newly translated Chekhov short stories surprises with refreshing phrases illuminating classic conflicts. It’s a tunnel into 19th Russia and contemporary lives.

The authors ability to characterize the human behavior and thought is incredible

Listen to this book and expect to live well, work, well, and to play well.

Great Collected Short Stories

The flavor of the people, times, and place are found here. Like time traveling in some respects.

Brilliant, Hilarious, Insightful.

The historical equivalent of a great comedian. He could have easily written for today's comics with little updating!

Does not grate, but . . .

The narrator generally enunciotes clearly, with fine prosody, telling stories well. He does about a B+ job with Russian names. He struggles mightily with Pyotr, which is offered as Pee-OH-tor in three syllables. Some patronymics are accented on the (preferred in English) antepenultimate. However, that is common when English or American speakers tackle patronymics, it can usually be overlooked. The translators have done a wonderful job. I have often compared their late 20th / early 21st century versions to the hundred or more years ago ones of Constance Garnett. Enjoy. Hats off to the publisher for paying for a good modern translation.