The Orator

Written by Anton Chekhov

Narrated by Anastasia Bertollo

One morning there was a burial of the collegiate assessor, Kirill Ivanovitch Babilonov who died because of two diseases, that were the most common in the society: an angry wife and alcoholisms. When the funeral procession moved on from the church towards the cemetery, one of teammate of the dead man, sat into a coach and went to his friend Zapoikin who was young and popular man. Zapoikin was well known and had a rare talent - to speak extempore wedding, anniversaries and funeral speeches. He could talk every time: half-awake, on an empty stomach, overdrunk and in the heat. He talks smoothly and evenly as well as the water from a gutter. He had so many words in his vocabulary as many as a number of cockroaches in any restaurant. His speech was eloquently and long, so sometimes, especially on merchant weddings where the police was needed to stop him talking. Read the story until the end to know what happened next.

• Language: English
• Publisher: SmartTouch Media
• Release date: Jan 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781467607452

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.