Gooseberries

Written by Anton Chekhov

Narrated by Max Bollinger

"Gooseberries" by Anton Chekhov is a short story about Ivan Ivanovich, a man who visits his brother and reflects on his own life. While picking gooseberries, Ivan compares his unsatisfied life to the abundant berries and realizes that he has been living for material wealth and social status, instead of finding true happiness and fulfillment. He also reflects on the futility of life and the inevitability of death. Through Ivan's musings and introspection, Chekhov explores themes of mortality, materialism, and the search for meaning in life. The story ends with Ivan feeling a sense of contentment and appreciation for the simple joys of life, such as the taste of ripe gooseberries. Read in English, unabridged.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Jan 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787241305

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 Gooseberries

[ericlee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The first of the Penguin Little Black Classics series that I've read -- having bought a whole shelf of them a few years back -- and it's a good one. Chekhov is described as having 'perfected the short story' and the three stories in this slender volume offer some evidence of that. The best of the three is the first one, 'The Kiss', a tale of imagination, sexual desire, fantasy, and loneliness. With just one character of significance, and 25 pages long, it's not exactly 'War and Peace', but is a great example of what a short story can be.