#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 …

#116 The Letter

Find today’s 4630 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/116.html Travis review: This story is told in three parts it seems. The first is the alcoholic and most-likely-to-be defrocked Father Anastasy refusing to leave his Reverence Fyodor Orlov’s office for an unknown (even to Anastasy) reason. The second is Deacon Liubimov telling Orlov about his son’s heathen lifestyle and …

#101 Darkness

Find today’s 1622 word story here: http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/101.html Travis Review: If it weren’t for the title of today’s story, I would have thought that the content was intended as a groan-worthy comedy. The plot concerns a young peasant boy desperately trying to get his blacksmith brother out of jail by appealing to anybody who seemed to have …

#099 The Beggar

Today’s story is 2132 words and can be found here:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/099.html Travis Review: Today’s story is about Skvortsov, a successful lawyer, challenging a young, drunken beggar he caught in a lie the opportunity to work for money. It seems that he is trying to impart a little of the mantra “Give a man a fish …

#023 In a Hotel

Today’s story is only 1008 words:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/023.html Travis Review: This is a satirical story about affected societal airs and how people can turn on a dime when it serves their interest. In this case, a colonel’s wife’s longwinded outrage, bolstered by the hotel-keeper’s stories of unseemly and shocking behavior, doesn’t matter once the marital status …

#021 The Marshal’s Widow

Today’s story is a mere 1510 words:  http://www.chekhovshorts.com/stories/021.html Travis Review: This story felt like an Irish wake once the men started sneaking off to the cloak room to get a nip of booze in a teetotaler’s house. The result reminded me of The Pogues’ Body of An American, especially how song’s opening somber notes pick …