#163 After the Theatre

Today’s 1154 word story is here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/163.html Travis review:  After reading several long, character intensive stories, today’s tale is a bit of a letdown. I was happy with the low word count as I read this in a few minutes. Unfortunately not much happens. A 16 year old girl, still feeling the effects from a powerful …

#162 The Grasshopper

Find today’s 9,960 word here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/162.html Travis review: I wonder if Chekhov wrote this story thinking about contradiction or at least a conflict within himself by being both a doctor/man of scientist and a writer/artist. The married couple are named Osip and Olga, both four letter names that start with the letter O. Osip is “a …

#161 The Wife

Please find today’s 18,092 mini-novella here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/161.html Travis review: The Wife is a story told from the first person point of view of a wealthy malcontent, much like a Russian Ebeneezer Scrooge. It is great that Pavel Andreitch does not recognize this. He is estranged from his wife, although she occupies the bottom floor of their …

#160 The Duel

Find today’s 40,842 word novel here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/160.html Travis review: In The Duel, Chekhov tries to cram all of humanity into a single novella and largely succeeds. Like Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy, well realized characters representing different sides of Russian culture are presented, but with less words than Chekhov’s contemporaries. Set in a small seaside town, Chekhov …

#159 Peasant Wives

Find today’s 5840 word story here:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/159.html Travis Review:  I’m not sure if this would be considered an example of history repeating itself or how the repetitive nature of circumstance causes similar reactions. Chekhov sets up the tale with two powerful men talking. Dyudya is a local peasant who has become prosperous and Matvey Savitch is merchant …

#158 Gusev

Find today’s 5602 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/158.html Travis review: It is interesting that today’s story is named after one of the invalid soldiers and not titled “Sick Bay” or “Voyage Home.” While the story centers around Gusev and we see a few of his fever dreams, it is his fellow patient, Pavel Ivanitch, that says anything introspective …

#157 The Horse-Stealers

Find today’s 6763 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/157.html Travis review: This a noir story. We have a medical assistant with a reputation of being a ” braggart and drunkard” crashing at an inn in the middle of a snow storm. If this were adapted into a modern story, the location might be a roadhouse with a couple rough …

#156 A Dreary Story: From the Notebook of an Old Man

Today’s 24,250 word novella here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/156.html Travis review: With Chekhov’s track record, a title like “A Dreary Story” should not turn off the reader. Misery is one of the most powerful stories I’ve read, and A Misfortune and Mire are also great. With over 24k words in this novella, it feels like Chekhov was trying to do what …

#155 The Princess

Find today’s 4853 word story here:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/155.html. Travis review In the “A Problem” Chekhov dealt with a spoiled aristocrat who felt entitled to exploit his uncles’ credit, but he knew he was bad or a criminal as he calls himself. In this story, we have a princess who believes she is a good person and cannot …