Customer Reviews
Very good collection of stories - By: Depressaholic, 30 Apr 2006 
This collection was written late in Chekhov's life, & include works that helped to cement his reputation of Russia's greatest naturalist storywriter. He already had a reputation as something of a renegade, fallling foul of the censors with his less than positive portrayal of Russian people. The stories in this book exemplify his attitude towards Russia & its people, adopting a position of paternal disappointment with his fellow countrymen.
The ten stories are alll fairly short, & are largely lacking in plot. They are psychological snapshots of the main characters, portraits of Russian stereotypes much in the tradition of Nineteenth Century Russian literature. The reading isn't always easy. Chekhov's views of peasants as drunks & criminals, or the trivial obsessions of the middle classes, are almost wholly negative, & the characters in his stories are often lost in their own pettiness. However, the portraits are so well observed, so believable, that the stories are compulsive reading. Chekhov has a fantastic eye for detail when it comes to human behaviour, & this collection is full of fascinating, detailed observations. 'The Kiss' is perhaps not for everyone, but it is an excellent collection of short stories nonetheless.
A great collection of stories for all concerned. - By: , 23 Oct 2003 
These are reallly timeless short stories, by a master of the genre. If you like Chekhov, then there are plenty of things here to interest you. If you only know the plays then alll I can say is that this collection of stories is even better. The book has "The Kiss," "The Bishop," "Peasants," the trilogy "Man In A Case," "Gooseberries" & "Concerning Love," & also includes "A Case History," "The Russian Master," "In The Gully" & "Anna Round The Neck." My favorite has to be "The Bishop," which fully displays Chekhov's powers of description & his real insight into the way human beings reallly feel. Other stories look at the conditions in Russian society for the serfs & "The Russian Master" is a typical Chekhov story of love's shortcomings.
There's something about this book that has a fascinating character to it. Right from the cover, to the variety of stories, (even the font itself!?!) transports me to Russia whenever I open it up. I recommend this book, even if you own some of the stories already because it's just still good value. If you don't know Chekhov's stories, I'm sure will like them by reading this collection.
