#168 An Anonymous Story

Find today’s 30,510 word novella here http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/168.html Travis review: This story feels like a 19th century French bildungsroman with Chekhov’s touch. In 18 chapters we follow a would-be revolutionary hampered with consumption who takes on the job of a manservant for the son of a hated government official. He watches as his master who has means and intelligence, …

#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. …

#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 …

#124 A Transgression

Find today’s 1912 word story http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/124.html Travis review:  In “A Transgression” we watch Miguev suffer through every philandering husband’s worst nightmare. His ex-housemaid and ex-lover is trying to extort five thousand rubles from him. She has given the following three threats, “I’ll leave the baby at your door, and I’ll have the law of you, and I’ll tell …

#082 A Tripping Tongue

Today’s story is 1262 words and can be found here:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/082.html Travis Review: Today’s story feels modern, much like a socialite trophy-wife reuniting with her husband over dinner to tell him about her latest adventure that he funded before jet-setting off on her next foray. Perhaps my impressions are based on my time in Los Angeles …

#079 The Jeune Premier

Today’s story is 1760 words and can be found here:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/079.html Travis Review: Yvegeny Podzharov is a confident and cocky “elegant young man.” Besides being a top actor he is also ladykiller. When a guest, Klimov, comes to the party who “lived in the very town in which the jeune premier had acted for two seasons in succession,” I …

#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 …