#092 The Orator

Find today’s 1269 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/092.html Travis Review: Because Grigory Petrovitch Zapoikin “possesses a rare talent for impromptu speechifying“, he is called upon to give a speech at funeral. Chekhov sets the comic tone for the story when he mentions that the deceased “had died of the two afflictions so widely spread in our country, a bad …

#088 Dreams

Today’s story is 3430 words long and can be found here:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/088.html Travis Review: Today’s story has a nameless tramp escorted by two peasant constables to the district town. It seems that his offense is not “remembering his name.” I can assume that strangers who wander into town are considered suspect unless they can identify …

#086 A Peculiar Man

Today’s story is 1607 words long and can be found here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/086.html Travis Review: Today’s story does contain a peculiar man. Steve does a great job below diagnosing Kiryakov with Asperger’s Syndrome, but like the midwife in the story, I would prefer to keep my distance from him regardless of his condition and not worry about any …

#085 In the Court

Today’s story is 2626 words and can be found here:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/085.html Travis Review: It today’s story, we see the sausage making of the Russian judicial system. How little the officers of the courts are engaged with the proceedings, even when life or death drama is happening. “…the men here were as accustomed to the dramas …

#068 Not Wanted

Today’s story is 2319 words long and can be found here:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/068.html Travis Review: This story could be called “How I Started Drinking” or “They Drove Me To Vodka.” Zaikin starts off the story by leaving the train station to his summer villa in a foul mood and he is not the only one as “a crowd …

#064 A Day In The Country

Find today’s 2387 word story here. http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/064.html Travis Review: Today’s story could be read to young children before bedtime or in an elementary school class. It contains many classic elements of children’s literature including a quasi-dramatic rescue, a wise elderly/grandfatherly character with a kind heart, an orphan girl and boy dynamic (friendship, loyalty, physical warmth), …

#063 A Privy Councillor

Today’s story is relatively long at 6971 words:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/063.html Travis Review: Today’s story is told from a man looking back at his childhood when an uncle came to visit his family for a summer. His uncle is no ordinary man, but a privy councillor with a general rank, putting him in the top class of Russian …

#061 A Gentleman Friend

Today’s story is 1314 words and is available here:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/061.html Travis Review: Today’s story makes we think of a penniless Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian. Entitled and focused on the vanity of appearance over subsistence, Vanda ebbs and flows between confidence and humiliation. The world revolves around her as she feels that “the very horses and …

#055 A Nightmare

Find today’s 5553 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/055.html Travis Review: Today’s story has a similar Chekhov theme of people misunderstanding each other. In this case it is between Kunin, a well off and ambitious permanent Rural Board member and a shabby, young priest in the district. This story is only seen through Kunin’s eyes as he judges …

#040 Mari D’elle

Today’s story is 2015 words: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/040.html Travis Review: I was fairly disappointed with this story, expecting more. At first I thought this would be the story of an opera singer and her daughter reunited. Like Chekhov was going against type with a tale of a selfless diva. But the daughter never shows up again after …