Anton Chekhov About Love

Written by Anton Chekhov

Narrated by Max Bollinger

Where does love come from? How far questions of personal happiness are of consequence in love? Audio book collection of stories by Anton Chekhov united by the theme of love featuring: About Love, The Helpmate, Polinka. Read in English, unabridged.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Feb 14, 2011
• ISBN: 9781907832819

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 Anton Chekhov About Love

[jlelliott_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This collection of short stories truly is about love. Not happy-ending fairytale love, but the love that really exists in the world: usually unequal felt, sometimes obsessive, and often inexplicable. The stories are all beautiful, well written and self-contained. Each story exhibits a different type of love: love of parents for children, unrequited love, obsessive love, forbidden loves, loves that could have been. Most fascinating to me is the way Chekhov has written the stories so we can see the motivations of all the various lovers. Some of them really want security, an interest to distract them from their meaningless lives, or just sex. In so many cases, what we would like to call love is just avarice. However the stories are not bleak. There are moments when true concern for others breaks through the characters innately selfish natures. I love Chekhov because his stories feel real, his characters aren’t just characters. They are human, with all of our vices, and our slim redeeming virtues.

[terrapinjetta_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Quite good but I think Chekhov is a bit too depressing for me.

[Arnold Omigie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very beautiful narration yet again by the man himself