A Nervous Breakdown
Written by Anton Chekhov
Narrated by Dave Courvoisier
4/5
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About this audiobook
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian writer and playwright, considered by many to be one of the best writers of short stories in the history of literature. Chekhov was also a successful physician, but writing was his true passion. He was quoted as saying "Medicine is my lawful wife and literature is my mistress."
Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian doctor, short-story writer, and playwright. Born in the port city of Taganrog, Chekhov was the third child of Pavel, a grocer and devout Christian, and Yevgeniya, a natural storyteller. His father, a violent and arrogant man, abused his wife and children and would serve as the inspiration for many of the writer’s most tyrannical and hypocritical characters. Chekhov studied at the Greek School in Taganrog, where he learned Ancient Greek. In 1876, his father’s debts forced the family to relocate to Moscow, where they lived in poverty while Anton remained in Taganrog to settle their finances and finish his studies. During this time, he worked odd jobs while reading extensively and composing his first written works. He joined his family in Moscow in 1879, pursuing a medical degree while writing short stories for entertainment and to support his parents and siblings. In 1876, after finishing his degree and contracting tuberculosis, he began writing for St. Petersburg’s Novoye Vremya, a popular paper which helped him to launch his literary career and gain financial independence. A friend and colleague of Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, and Ivan Bunin, Chekhov is remembered today for his skillful observations of everyday Russian life, his deeply psychological character studies, and his mastery of language and the rhythms of conversation.
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Reviews for A Nervous Breakdown
10 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is my first experience of Chekhov, who's often cited as one of the greatest short-story writers, and I have to confess that the jury's out for now. This little book contains three stories, translated by Ronald Wilks: the eponymous A Nervous Breakdown, The Black Monk and Anna Round the Neck, and they are all rather grim. In the first, the law student Vasilyev is driven into a state of distraction after spending an evening with his friends trawling the brothels of Moscow. Sensitive Vasilyev is distressed by the vulgarity of these working women and the way that his educated friends can happily flit between their high-minded studies and the exploitation of prostitutes. I'm not really sure what the point is, unless to suggest that too much reading and too little life has driven Vasilyev past the brink of reason...The other two stories feel more successful. In The Black Monk, the overworked Kovrin seeks sanctuary with his childhood guardian Pesotsky and Pesotsky's daughter Tanya in the country. His erratic mental state finds expression in visions of a black monk, whose flattering addresses lead Kovrin to an exaggerated notion of his own importance. Moving from exuberant affection to cold disdain, his sense of his own brilliance leads him into a tragic sequence of events. And, finally, Anna Round the Neck sees the titular Anna married off to a rich but old and ugly Modeste Alekseyevich. Having given up her freedom in the hope of gaining financial security for her impoverished family, Anna is distressed to realise that her husband means to keep a tight rein on the purse-strings. But, when she becomes something of a social sensation, Anna's principles are quite to disappear as she savours the thrill of high-society living.I have another collection of Chekhov's short stories (Gooseberries) waiting to be read, which will feature in a future Bite-Sized Russians post, but at the moment I'm not exactly bowled over. The stories don't have the power of The Queen of Spades or the nonsensical wit of The Nose. However, I'm sure that it's just a case of waiting until I find the right one, and then I'll be swept off my feet.