Oh! The Public

Written by Anton Chekhov

Narrated by Max Bollinger

"Oh! The Public" by Anton Chekhov is a short story that follows the head ticket collector, Podtyagin, as he performs his duties on a late-night train journey. Despite being sleep-deprived and tempted to drink, he decides to "buck up and work" and begins inspecting the tickets of the passengers. One passenger, an invalid wrapped in a fur coat and rug, moans about being woken and argues with Podtyagin over the requirement for a ticket. The argument escalates and other passengers become indignant at the apparent persecution of the invalid. After the argument, Podtyagin begins to feel uneasy and questions his own actions, despite being in the right according to duty. The story is a commentary on bureaucracy, public service, and the social class structure of the time. Read in English, unabridged.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Jan 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787241152

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.