#190 Gooseberries

Find today’s 4373 word short story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/190.html Travis review: I believe “Gooeseberries” is the first time that Chekhov has used characters from a previous story. And this is his 190th story. This story follows yesterday’s Man in a Case, where the teacher, Burkin, told the veterinarian surgeon, Ivan Ivanovitch, about a tyrannical Greek instructor who …

#189 The Man in a Case

Please find today’s 5400 word short story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/189.html Travis review: The Man in the Case certainly lives up to it’s name both figuratively and literally. Two accomplished men spend the night in a barn after what I imagine was a vigorous day of hunting. Discussion about the how the wife of the man whose land …

#167 Terror

Find today’s 5,034 word short story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/167.html Travis review: This story is a bit disappointing considering the expectations that come with a title like “Terror.” On the surface, this could be seen as a tale about two close, intellectual friends who have chosen different career paths and the stronger one takes the weaker man’s wife. …

#154 The Bet

Find today’s 2859 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/154.html Travis Review This is one of my favorite stories. It is the story that turned me onto Chekhov many years ago. It is a mixture of many great things. It’s an intellectual argument about the cruelty of imprisonment as well as a the futility of money and pursuing knowledge without …

#029 Gone Astray

You can find this 1590 word story at http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/029.html  Travis Review: In today’s story two drunken lawyers come out of the woods in the middle of the night heading for their summer cottages. The first lawyer’s wife doesn’t seem to want to open the door for him, so he heaves himself through an unlocked window only …

#024 Boots

Today’s story is 1611 words. http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/024.html Travis Review: Today we have the first instance of Chekhov’s gun, and in a play too! Alcohol again causes calamity in a hotel. This time, Murkin, a piano tuner, finds that his boots are missing. Calling on the attendant who had “had a drop,” they discover the boots are in …

#020 Oysters

Find today’s 1568 word classic here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/020.html  Travis Review: Story number 20 is a classic. I read it over 15 years ago and even though I knew what was going happen, it still packed a punch. Stories like this are why I love Chekhov’s works. So many elements are at play here: physically and emotional …

#018 A Chameleon

Here is today’s 1390 word story:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/018.html Travis Review Like yesterday’s story, Minds In Ferment, a quiet day on the square erupts into a big scene with citizens throwing accusations and opinions. In this case, a man chases and corners a dog that bit him. The chameleon of the story is police superintendent Otchumyelov. The story becomes a farcical …

#013 A Slander

Today’s story is around 1500 words.   http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/013.html Travis Review: We have another overly excited character, overreacting to a situation and being worse off for it. What’s interesting is that Chekov ends the story as a whodunit. Asking the readers to solve the slanderer mystery. I’m not sure if there is an answer, but I’m thinking …

#012 The Bird Market

Find today’s 1562 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/012.html Travis Review: It seems like young Chekhov went to the bird market in Trubnoy Square with a pen and paper, and wrote down his observations. There is no plot, just meandering conversations from bird, fish, and rabbit sellers and buyers to a footman trying to hock a lapdog for …