Overdoing It

Written by Anton Chekhov

Narrated by Max Bollinger

Overdoing It by Anton Chekhov is a short story about a land surveyor who hires a peasant cart driver to take him to the estate he has been summoned to survey. The journey is long and tortuous, and the surveyor is jolted and marvelled at the capacity of the Russian drivers for combining a slow pace with a jolting that turns the soul inside out. The surveyor is worried about the danger of the journey, but the driver, Klim, reassures him that there are no robbers on the road. The surveyor even lies to Klim that he has three revolvers to protect himself. The journey becomes even more suspicious when the cart suddenly turns to the left, leaving the surveyor to wonder where Klim is taking him to. Read in English, unabridged.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Jan 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787241244

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.