Chekhov wrote all of these stories under a pseudonym, some of them while he was still in medical school. Until his death, he denied being their author; perhaps he did not want to spoil his image with these bits of humor, or perhaps he did not want to spoil these stories' frivolity by attaching a name like Chekhov to them. Unlike the dark, brooding impression of Chekhov one may get from some of his plays, these stories are lively, lighthearted and often hilarious. All are short -- some as short as just a page or two -- but all will have clever endings, even for readers not familiar with Chekhov or with his specific Russian brand of humor. Many of the stories are not meant to be laugh-out-loud funny, but are comic in the more classical sense, bringing forth clever observations and juxtapositions in a seemingly familiar world. These are highly recommended either as a supplement to Chekhov's better known works, or as an easy introduction to his writings.

I like Robert Payne's translations of Chekhov because he has a good ear for the flow of beautiful writing. He does not bog Chekhov's prose down with needless commas like Constance Garnett and others. Payne's Chekhov reads seamlessly. He understands that good storytelling is about how the words flow together as in speech. Beautiful translations. (By the way, they are perfect for teaching Chekhov to high school or college students.)

Rosa La Luna

This book is a great reading! These Chekhov's stories of the early period are full of humour: some of them are just funny but lots of them are psychologically deep. No surprise that most of these stories are widely recognised as masterpieces! Though written in the late XIX these stories are still of great importance for the contemporary reader because they deal with such eternal things as human soul and human character. And in such a funny manner! The translation is remarkable. Those who ever tried to translate literary prose from Russian into English know how difficult this task is. You can really enjoy Sekirin's publication : he succeeded in the translation of the most difficult passages, those in which Chekhov describes the specific atmosphere of Russian reality and even those in which Chekhov play words. Read this book and recommend it to everybody! It is a real treasure of humour and a great exhibition of human characters!

A long-expected translation of one of the most prominent stydies of Chekhov, written with lucidity and depth akin to Chekhov's own style.

This is a very charming book. Not only is there Chekhov's fine story about a lost dog getting involved in a circus act, but the illustrations are wonderful. Surely this is the way 19th Century St. Petersburg looked!

My daughter first found this book in the library when she was six, and it quickly became one of her favorites.

Chekhov's achievement as a short story writer has rarely, if ever, been equalled, and certainly never surpassed. This collection, together with its comapanion volumes "The Party and Other Stories", "The Fiancee and other Stories", "The Duel and Other Stories" (all translated by Ronald Wilks), and "Lady with Lapdog and Other Stories" (translated by David Magarshack), all in the Penguin edition, should keep the discerning reader happy for an entire lifetime!

Chekhov is often regarded as a dreamy writer, dealing with the themes of regret and loss in subtle shades of pastel. Certainly, he could often be very delicate indeed. But Chekhov had a far wider range than is generally acknowledged: he could paint with primary colours as well. This particular collection, for instance, contains two of his finest stories - "Peasants" and "In the Gully" - which are both deeply shocking. The latter story has a horrific climax that would not be out of place in a novel by Zola.

I cannot think of any other writer who could write stories such as these, and also something as poetic and sad as "The Bishop": here, the protagonist, of peasant stock, is dying, and he feels alienated even from his own mother, who holds him in awe. It is a profoundly melancholy story, and one of the most moving things I have read.

In each of these stories, there seems to be enough material for entire novels. It is not possible to describe adequately in a few lines the sheer variety and depth of human experience depicted in these stories. Few writers have depicted humanity with such understanding and compassion.

Chekov, un hombre excelente que creo un legado especial. Quizás Carver habría de acuerdo conmigo hoy, Ckekov marcó a una serie de escritores; bueno, lean las historias, por que no me equivoco.

Medicine Stone is a collection of meditational poetry by Jack Coulehan that deals with the sensitive subjects of personal tragedy, inspiration, loss, and the effects of cosmic forces. The distinctive and emotional free verse is uniquely inspirational. Mongoose: Here lies the mongoose that I carried across the world/by steamship from the steamy woodlands of Ceylon/to the breathless, frozen forests south of Moscow.//In the summer my guests cooed hen they saw the mongoose/popping his head from our picnic basket. The creature/was a real show-stopper. The lazed twitch of his whiskers//and pointed nose delighted them all, and his bush tail/could write such unexpected endings, like last week/in the woods--the mongoose bit off a piece of mama's nose//while she crawled around on her knees collecting mushrooms./No feigned affection there. No holding back or holding forth./Indeed, the mongoose was a trick of the universe,/a quick correction to easy assumptions. The trickster/could worry a cobra, but if you left him in a room/alone, he'd whimper for hours. May the mongoose rest in peace.

Exceptional play fitted with perfectly great performers. I saw it first hand here in Des Moines, IA. It was sad, funny, inspiring, dangling, ramantic and beautiful.

There are innumerable, many incoherent collections of Chekhov's short fiction: such is the bane of an author being in the public domain. What makes this collection superior is that Edmund Wilson, the greatest critic of the 20th Century, assembled it, and there is at last a logic applied to its assemblage beyond the crude dictates of chronology.

Wilson realized that Chekhov seems spotty if not incomprehensible when his short caricatures and romances are interleaved with brooding tales of peasant lives. Think of a Twain compilation where "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg" and "Punch Brothers Punch" are sandwiched together.

So Wilson's collection takes the best of Chekhov's "social" tales of his last decade, stories that focus on groups of Russians, whether it be the bourgeois, the peasants, the workers, or the decaying aristocracy. In these stories, Chekhov is on Tolstoyean grounds, and holds his own remarkably.

However, this strategy means sacrifice: the beautiful, sparkling "Lady with the Dog" would not sit well in this grim company, so it is excluded.