Book description
These stories from the middle period of Chekhov's career show him
exploring complex, ambiguous and often extreme emotions. Influenced by
his own experiences as a doctor, 'Ward No. 6', set in a mental hospital,
is a savage indictment of the medical profession. 'The Black Monk',
portraying an academic who has strange hallucinations, explores ideas of
genius and insanity; in 'Murder', religious fervour leads to violence;
while in 'The Student', Chekhov's favourite story, a young man recounts
a tale from the gospels and undergoes a spiritual epiphany. In all the
stories collected here, Chekhov's characters face madness, alienation
and frustration before they experience brief, ephemeral moments of
insight, often earned at great cost, where they confront the reality of
their existence.
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian physician and writer of short
stories and plays, including the masterpieces: 'Uncle Vanya', 'The
Seagull', and 'The Cherry Orchard'.
Ronald Wilks has translated many Russian works including, for
Penguin, those of Gorky, Sologub, Tolstoy, Pushkin, and Chekhov. J.
Douglas Clayton is Professor of Russian at the University of Ottawa.
He is the author of 'Pierrot in Petrograd' about the Commedia
dell'arte and the Russian tradition.
