Paperback, 96 pages
English language
Published July 1, 1990 by Dover.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904), a Russian physician, short-story writer, and playwright, wrote hundreds of stories that delved beneath the surface of Russian society, exposing the hidden motives of his characters and the ways in which prevailing social forces influenced their lives. This collection contains five of his most highly regarded stories, all from his maturity, and set in a variety of Tsarist Russian milieux.
Included are "The Black Monk" (1894), "The House with the Mezzanine" (1896), "The Peasants" (1897), "Gooseberries" (1898), and "The Lady with the Toy Dog" (1899). In these incisive tales, readers will discover a master of character, nuance, and setting developing the basic themes of his oeuvre: the sociological and psychological obstacles in the way of human affection and satisfactory development of the personality.
Chekhov is revered, and I'm sure he wrote many wonderful, compelling things. But the title of this book is a misnomer. I'd say that three were worthwhile, though perhaps all three had endings that left me wanting. And the other two were meh, at best. So maybe read some Chekhov, just not this particular collection.
