Aborigines

Written by Anton Chekhov

Narrated by Dave Courvoisier

Ivan Lyashkevsky, a Polish lieutenant who suffered a head injury, spends a large amount of time grumbling about the native people of the town he's living in. He thinks them to be lazy and useless and is quick to express his views. On this particular day, he is visiting with his friend Franz Finks and studying his native landlord out the window. Lyashkevsky grows more and more angry with the natives as he discusses their flaws with Finks throughout the entire day, and simple Finks takes all his complaints in stride. By that night, Lyashkevsky has discovered even more people and things to be disgruntled with, not realizing that he embodies much of what he has come to dislike so strongly.
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."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Dec 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469086057

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.