The Bet
Written by Anton Chekhov
Narrated by Max Bollinger
4/5
()
About this audiobook
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.
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.
Related to The Bet
Related audiobooks
B. J. Harrison Reads The Bet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWho Was to Blame? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Trivial Incident and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Black Monk Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Bet (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfter The Theater Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Robinson Crusoe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLes Misérables: Volume 1: Fantine - Book 1: A Just Man (Unabridged) Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Permanent Husband (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBad Weather Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsB. J. Harrison Reads The Darling Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Rhyme A Dozen - Life: 12 Poets, 12 Poems, 1 Topic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Possessed, or The Devils Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Original Dracula Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Room With a View Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnna Kanerina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdventures of Tom Sawyer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsB. J. Harrison Reads The Kiss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlatland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poetry of Charlotte Mew: London born Victorian Poet who wowed peers such as Hardy, Woolf & Sassoon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loss of Breath Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Poems: Series One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dalyrimple Goes Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Sees the Truth, But Waits Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Great Love Story Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreat Expectations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrasshopper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enemies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Classics For You
The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Frankenstein Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Atlas Shrugged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad: A New Translation by Caroline Alexander Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Gatsby Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gone With The Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Kill a Mockingbird Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers in the Attic: 40th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pride and Prejudice: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sense and Sensibility Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Sherlock Holmes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fountainhead Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Name of the Rose Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Farewell to Arms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tale of Two Cities Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Master and Margarita Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Series of Unfortunate Events #1 Multi-Voice, A: The Bad Beginning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Prince: Machiavelli Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War & Peace - Volume I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Picture of Dorian Gray: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beowulf: Translated by Seamus Heaney Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Perks of Being a Wallflower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Their Eyes Were Watching God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pride and Prejudice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Thousand Ships: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emma: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Bet
41 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Chekhov 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?
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5To 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A simple story about a bet on whether life imprisonment is better than capital punishment.