Page 73 of 74 FirstFirst ... 236368697071727374 LastLast
Results 1,081 to 1,095 of 1106

Thread: Chekhov Short Story Thread

  1. #1081
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Near Chicago, Illinois USA
    Posts
    9,420
    Blog Entries
    2
    "Heartache" is "Misery"

    "The Chameleon" is about a dog and wondering if it is a stray or the General's dog. Opinions change on what to do with the dog depending on the owner. This is humorous.

    "The Culprit" is about a guy who unbolts parts of passenger trains so he can use the nut as a weight for fishing. Apparently it was a common practice. He's arrested and sent to hard labor. It left me puzzled, but I can see the story as a humorous piece if one is in the right mood.

    I didn't particularly like "A Calamity" although the details were interesting. It was a story of adultery out of boredom as you mentioned.

    That leaves in the short list:

    The Letter
    The Name-Day Party
    Anna on the Neck
    About Love
    The Darling
    The Lady With the Pet Dog
    At Christmas Time

  2. #1082
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Beyond nowhere
    Posts
    11,108
    Blog Entries
    2
    Read "The Chameleon" today. Itīs the dogs luck that the chief of police doesnīt know where the dog coes from. And Russian authorities are very much like Brazilian. The treatment of a street dog is very different of the one given to a dog that belongs to an important person.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  3. #1083
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Near Chicago, Illinois USA
    Posts
    9,420
    Blog Entries
    2
    The Chameleon was funny. I haven't read any more of the stories, but I may get a chance today. I am also thinking of reading Balzac's Droll Stories, but that would be for another thread.

  4. #1084
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Beyond nowhere
    Posts
    11,108
    Blog Entries
    2
    As usually when animals are involved, I was angry with the treatment of the dog and so I didnīt think the story so funny. But it was a good satire of the police officer.
    Iīll see if I can find Balzacīs Droll Stories.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  5. #1085
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Beyond nowhere
    Posts
    11,108
    Blog Entries
    2
    As usually when animals are involved, I was angry with the treatment of the dog and so I didnīt think the story so funny. But it was a good satire of the police officer.
    Iīll see if I can find Balzacīs Droll Stories.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  6. #1086
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Near Chicago, Illinois USA
    Posts
    9,420
    Blog Entries
    2
    I didn't like Hrukin putting his cigarette out on the dog's nose either, but it was an effective way for Chekhov to show that the dog's accuser lack of empathy. I suppose it is more satire than comedy.

    I read "The Letter" http://www.eldritchpress.org/ac/jr/116.htm and "At Christmas Time" http://www.eldritchpress.org/ac/jr/198.htm. Chekhov's bad guys are people who lack empathy. His good guys express their suffering which should have been evident to the others, but isn't.

    "The Letter" was satirically humorous. An alcoholic wanted a drink. A deacon wanted to be a good father and send his son a letter advising him how to behave. The chief deacon wrote the letter for him. These three have different motivations and different levels of empathy toward that son.

    The story "At Christmas Time" was heartbreaking. The contrast between suffering and the lack of empathy here was very sharp. It was the best story so far and very much like "Vanka".

  7. #1087
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Beyond nowhere
    Posts
    11,108
    Blog Entries
    2
    Read "At Christmas Time" just now, I had not noticed that you had added to your post.
    I agree with the contrast between feelings and lack of empathy. Chekhovīs world is a very hard world and that makes it sound very up to date.
    Taken away the snow, this could have been a Brazilian story. Many people are iliterate and therefore in some public places like the Central Train Station in Rio de Janeiro there are people that write letters for a small amount.
    Iīll read "The Letter" tomorrow.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  8. #1088
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Near Chicago, Illinois USA
    Posts
    9,420
    Blog Entries
    2
    I'm glad you posted, Danik! This will get me back reading Chekhov. It is amazing how distracted I get. "At Christmas Time" is how I see Chekhov in my mind especially the ending to that story. It is interesting that this could represent Rio de Janeiro today. I tend to assume everyone is literate with access to email, but I know that can't be the case.

  9. #1089
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Beyond nowhere
    Posts
    11,108
    Blog Entries
    2
    I must have got distracted too, for only yesterday I noticed you had added two more stories to your post.
    In Brazil there still is a lot of iliteracy, allthough many people use the message funtion of their smatphones. I assume that in US most people, even the poor, have learnt to read and write.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  10. #1090
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Beyond nowhere
    Posts
    11,108
    Blog Entries
    2
    I enjoyed "The Letter" very much. Itīs very typical the awe both the less educated clerics have of the written words. I liked the ironical ending too.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  11. #1091
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Near Chicago, Illinois USA
    Posts
    9,420
    Blog Entries
    2
    I read "About Love" yesterday. http://www.eldritchpress.org/ac/jr/191.htm

    It is another story about the breakup of a family due to affections by an outsider. There was no actual adultery as I read it. What I like about it is the power of thought.

  12. #1092
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Beyond nowhere
    Posts
    11,108
    Blog Entries
    2
    Just finished "About Love". Why, I thought it an almost romantic story clad in realistic musings.

    I read a story of his called "The cat", which is very typical too, but couldnīt find it in this collection. It is not "The Incident".
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  13. #1093
    Maybe YesNo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Near Chicago, Illinois USA
    Posts
    9,420
    Blog Entries
    2
    Searching for Chekhov and cat brought up The Incident. I didn't see something like that in the list of titles either. Maybe searching for the name of a character in the story would find it better.

    "About Love" was romantic in the apparent longing between the three people involved. It left all three of them alone. I might have been missing the point of it.

  14. #1094
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Beyond nowhere
    Posts
    11,108
    Blog Entries
    2
    Certainly not, Yes/No. I meant they are romantic in their longings. This story made me realise an aspect of Chekhov I had not noticed before: how the longings of his protagonists are usually crushed by an implacable and indiferent reality.

    Just finished reading "Vanka". I liked it very much. You learn about the life of the boy through the letter (though his grandfather probably never will, because the boy didnīt stamp the letter). But living in a country with so much iliteracy I couldnīt help wondering about how wonderfully young Vanka did express himself.
    I think the great curse of iliteracy is not the writing part. It is the inability to express oneself.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

  15. #1095
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Beyond nowhere
    Posts
    11,108
    Blog Entries
    2
    It is still not the story I was looking for. But to me it is an example of wrong pedagogy:

    http://www.eldritchpress.org/ac/jr/094.htm
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

Similar Threads

  1. Searching for Holocaust short story
    By richards1052 in forum General Literature
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 09-27-2014, 06:52 PM
  2. Annual Short Story Competition 2008!
    By Scheherazade in forum 2008 Contest Archive
    Replies: 46
    Last Post: 12-28-2008, 08:08 AM
  3. Writing a Short Story
    By Hunnii in forum Short Story Sharing
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 12-22-2007, 02:59 AM
  4. Shop Talk, My Short Story
    By Virgil in forum Short Story Sharing
    Replies: 36
    Last Post: 04-06-2007, 07:31 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •