About Love and Other Stories

By: Anton Chekhov

Narrated by: Adam Grupper, T. Ryder Smith, Henry Strozier

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Raymond Carver called Anton Chekhov "the greatest short story writer who has ever lived". This unequivocal verdict on Chekhov's genius has been echoed many times by writers as diverse as Katherine Mansfield, Somerset Maugham, John Cheever, and Tobias Wolf. While his popularity as a playwright has sometimes overshadowed his achievements in prose, the importance of Chekhov's stories is now recognized by readers as well as by fellow authors. Their themes - alienation, the absurdity and tragedy of human existence - have as much relevance today as when they were written, and these superb new translations capture their modernist spirit. Elusive and subtle, spare and unadorned, the stories in this selection are among Chekhov's most poignant and lyrical. The book includes well-known pieces such as "The Lady with the Little Dog",'as well as less familiar work like "Gusev", inspired by Chekhov's travels in the Far East, and "Rothschild's Violin", a haunting and darkly humorous tale about death and loss. The stories are arranged chronologically to show the evolution of Chekhov's art.

©2004 Translation: Rosamund Bartlett (P)2014 Recorded Books

Well acted renditions of excellent stories

The stories in this collection as presented are:

chapter 1 - the huntsman
chapter 2 - on the road
chapter 3 - the letter
chapter 4 - fortune
chapter 5 - gusiev
chapter 6 - fish love
chapter 7,8 - the black monk
chapter 9 - rothschild's violin
chapter 10 - the student
chapter 11 - the house with the mezzanine
chapter 12 - in the cart
chapter 13 - the man in a case
chapter 14 - gooseberries
chapter 15 - about love
chapter 16 - the lady with the little dog
chapter 17 - at christmas time
chapter 18 - the bishop

Wonderful collection

I loved each story. It was always interesting to see how each story related to the topic of love.

Beautifully read in a fresh translation

Where does About Love and Other Stories rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

These are first class stories, insightful, compassionate. They changed the form.

What other book might you compare About Love and Other Stories to, and why?

It's really enjoyable to recognise their influence in work by Joyce, Carver, Pritchett and Trevor - in fact, twentieth century short fiction generally.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances? How does this one compare?

First time experience of these narrators, and a very good one. Readers to keep an eye on.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I loved The Student. It's such a concise vision of self doubt and affirmation, very moving. But other stories, too.

Any additional comments?

Worth listening to once, then twice. then again.

The greatest short story writer of them all to help you understand the human condition

I think I read somewhere that when Ernest Hemingway was asked who his three favourite writers were, he replied, “Chekhov, Chekhov, Chekhov.” I couldn’t agree more. These stories get right inside the human condition, quite reflective and often a melancholia to his tale about people being human, and in these stories that tell of love in some form. Yet they also act as a balm to soothe an aching mind. I took my time and will be reading more. I’m with Hemingway, Chekhov is a remarkable and perceptive writer who wrote beautiful prose that can help you understand the human condition and what it is to be human.

As always Chekhov work is outstanding

what can I say ? literature at it's finest, beautifully written, entertaining absolutely wonderful - I love Chekhov.