Chekhov Shorts: Ivan Matveyitch

Title: Ivan Matveyitch
Date Read: 2nd February 2010
Word Count: 2063
Briefly: Frustrated with the persistent lateness of his young male secretary Ivan Matveyitch, the ‘man of learning’ (for he has no other name) is determined to let his young secretary know that he isn’t too happy.
Afterthoughts: This story is quite enjoyable actually. Not the best story [...]

Chekhov Shorts: Anyuta

Title: Anyuta
Date Read: 2nd February 2010
Word Count: 1543
Briefly: Medical student Stepan Klotchkov is in the throes of exam revision in his rather rundown apartment, when he calls upon his room mate Anyuta to pose as his ‘living skeleton’ for him (so that he can get it clear in his head the exact positioning of [...]

Devouring De Maupassant: Family Life

Title: Family Life (also known as A Family Affair)
Date Read: 1st February 2009
Available Online?: YES (although read for this review was the David Coward translation of the story in A Day in the Country and Other Stories (Oxford University Press)).
Briefly: Overweight, depressed and completely ingrained in the monotonous routine of his job as a [...]

Shot of Short #59: Cicada Cadence, Katie Didn’t by Craig Davis

Title: Cicada Cadence, Katie Didn’t by Craig Davis
Date Read: 27 January 2010
Available Online?: YES (as one of the stories posted by Harper Perennial on their website Fifty-Two Stories, which promises a new (or classic) short story from their collection, posted every week throughout 2010).
Briefly: Two men in a bar reminiscence on their youth, sharing [...]

Shot of Short #58: Belinda by Amity Gaige

Title: Belinda by Amity Gaige
Date Read: 27 January 2010
Available Online?: YES (as one of the stories posted by Harper Perennial on their website Fifty-Two Stories, which promises a new (or classic) short story from their collection, posted every week throughout 2010).
Briefly: The story follows Karin as she progresses through a number of unsuccessful marriages. [...]

Chekhov Shorts: The Requiem

Title: The Requiem
Date Read: 26th January 2010
Word Count: 1989
Briefly: Shopkeeper Andrey Andreyitch is waiting for the church to empty at the end of Sunday mass, when he notices an angry Father Grigory beckoning him over. It’s about a note that Andrey handed in before mass, asking for prayers to be given to his [...]

Chekhov Shorts: An Actor’s End

Title: An Actor’s End
Date Read: 26th January 2010
Word Count: 2375
Briefly: After a big row with his manager, Shtchiptsov the actor – a very large and strong yet simple man – storms back to his room to sulk. Visited by one of his colleagues – the comic man Sigaev, Shtchiptsov reveals that he wants to [...]

Devouring De Maupassant: Simon’s Dad

Title: Simon’s Dad
Date Read: 25th January 2009
Available Online?: YES (although read for this review was the David Coward translation of the story in A Day in the Country and Other Stories (Oxford University Press)).
Briefly: It’s Simon’s first day at school in a small French village. Lunchtime arrives and he soon finds himself surrounded by [...]

Devouring De Maupassant: Out on the River

Title: Out on the River
Date Read: 25th January 2009
Available Online?: YES (although read for this review was the David Coward translation of the story in A Day in the Country and Other Stories (Oxford University Press)).
Briefly: The narrator recounts a story told to him by a neighbour who has a fascination with boats and [...]

Chekhov Shorts: An Upheaval

Title: An Upheaval
Date Read: 19 January 2010
Word Count: 2718
Briefly: The young governess Mashenka Pavletsky returns to the home of her employers – the Kushkins, to find that everything is in uproar. A two thousand rouble brooch belonging to the mistress has gone missing, and desperate to find it and uncover the thief, the mistress [...]

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