The lady with the Dog and other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekov

The lady with the Dog and other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekov

       …How soft, how snug, how warm, how comfortable—and how bored you are!

It is difficult to think of another short story writer besides Chekov, except perhaps Wilde, whom I've been moved by so much. I was not surprised when I read that he is widely known as one of the best short story writers in the world.

Chekov's stories are often stagnant, unfulfilling and eccentric- this seems to me either a reflection of the melancholy and idiosyncrasies of the life in Russia in times of Chekov or Chekov's own melancholy. His stories have diverse themes- from infidelity and passionate disconnectedness of the lady with the dog to pubescent guilt and wavering self-esteem of Volodya.

There is also an undercurrent of the supernatural or metaphysical doubt in Chekov's stories- the philosophically well-founded boredom of Orlov in An anonymous story gives way to the conspicuous enlightenment of Kovrin in the Black Monk. It seems that Chekov has a penchant for portraying the unusual in the usual to create a certain discomfort…a certain dissonance in the mind of the reader. This dissonance amidst sheer honesty, disgust and jealous joy creates a sort of plausibility in the tales that further makes Chekov's stories closer to the real world than, say, Gogol's stories are. While there are twists in Chekov's stories, the thrills are not without significance. They are but a reflection of our insecurities, our repression, our societal conformity.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who has a taste for slightly eccentric works but is not looking for a cheap thrill.