The Bet

Written by Anton Chekhov

Narrated by Max Bollinger

In Anton Chekhov's "The Bet," a wealthy banker bets a young lawyer that solitary confinement is preferable to the death penalty. The lawyer endures years of isolation, challenging his ideals and the bet's true worth. The story explores the consequences of extreme choices and the subjective value of freedom. Read in English, unabridged.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Apr 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781787245129

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.

Reviews for The Bet

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Chekhov is my favorite 19th century Russian author, but this short story is not his best work. It is definitely interesting and would be a great read for discussion—but it ends way too abruptly. What do those present when the bet was made think now that it's over? Or was this story written to be a discussion piece?

[tapestry100 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

To prove which is a worst way to die, capital punishment or life imprisonment, a banker and a lawyer enter into the bet: the lawyer agrees to imprisonment for fifteen years in exchange for 2 million. He can have as much wine, tobacco, and books, but will have no contact with any person for the fifteen years,being confined to a room in the banker's home. If the lawyer leaves the room for any reason, he forfeits the 2 million. The banker doesn't think he can do it; the lawyer is confident that he will. Fifteen years pass, and what both men have discovered in that time has changed them both in equally dramatic and unexpected ways. The story may be short, but it is powerful. It is amazing how Chekhov can create such an interesting character study in such a short work of fiction.

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A simple story about a bet on whether life imprisonment is better than capital punishment.