Orchards

by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Orchards

by
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

book data

2,397 ratings, 3.68 average rating, 111 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		23%
4		35%
3		28%
2		9%
1		2%

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published

October 12th 1986 by Knopf (first published 1904)

details

Paperback, 175 pages

characters

Anya & Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya

setting

Russian Federation

isbn

0394745353 (isbn13: 9780394745350)

description

Tom Murphy's Irish vernacular adaptation of Chekhov's most popular play allows us to re-imagine the events in the last days of Anglo-Irish colonialism

…more

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Aug 31, 2009

Angie rated it:

(review of isbn 0486266826)

When I finished reading this play, I wasn't sure what to make of it, and I've been thinking on it for a couple of weeks now. I'm still not entirely sure what I think, but I know it caused me to think about what I thought, so that counts for something. Anyway, I find the humor constantly laced with sadness to be poignant, and I can imagine how this play could be a directorial challenge. I love the old servant who laments the freeing of the serfs. What a wretched fellow; how sad for him to fee...more

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Apr 29, 2008

Tony duncan rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

Read in January, 1979

recommends it for: if you like Russian flowery sad comedies....

An excellent story about the sad conjunction of avoidance and delsuion. I love the way that class issues are presented in a way that are both funny and indicative of how social and class world views are so limiting and don;t reflect reality. On so many levels this shows the bankruptcy of Russian aristocracy and portends the destructiveness that was too come in Russia.

Also my ex girlfriend Liz starred in it in an of off broadway production recently, so I am a little biased.

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Jan 08, 2010

bistra ivanova rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

bookshelves: plays

миналата седмица гледах пиесата в народния, завърших азаряновата трилогия, а днес случайно се озовах в една библиотека и реших да прочета и текста. трудно ми е да го оценя сам за себе си, защото все актьорите от народния ми бяха пред очите, но май е доста добър. като минус ще и...more

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Dec 22, 2009

Alireza rated it:

(review of isbn 9643412482)

Read in December, 2009

كتاب باغ آلبالو آخرين اثر چخوف محسوب مي شود. در واقع نمايشنامه اي است كه مدتي پس از انتشار در مسكو به اجرا در مي آيد. چخوف در اين نماشنامه با همان نثر آشنا، شيرين و ساده خودش ما را با زندگي خانواده اي روسي آشنا مي كند. خانواده اي كه زماني براي خود برو و بيايي داشته اند و جزو اشراف �...more كتاب باغ آلبالو آخرين اثر چخوف محسوب مي شود. در واقع نمايشنامه اي است كه مدتي پس از انتشار در مسكو به اجرا در مي آيد. چخوف در اين نماشنامه با همان نثر آشنا، شيرين و ساده خودش ما را با زندگي خانواده اي روسي آشنا مي كند. خانواده اي كه زماني براي خود برو و بيايي داشته اند و جزو اشراف محسوب مي شده اند. اما اكنون توان پرداخت تنزيل را هم ندارند و به همين علت، دولت مي خواهد باغ آلبالوي آنها را كه بزرگترين و زيباترين ملك آن منطقه است به حراج و مزايده بگذارند. مادام رانوسكي مالك باغ آلبالو پس مدتي دور ماندن از وطن و سپري كردن زندگي در پاريس به اميد نگه داشتن باغ آلبالو دوباره به روسيه باز مي گردد. با ديدن باغ آلبالو و عمارت آن خاطرات دوران كودكي اش برايش زنده مي شود. ...

ادامه داستان برخورد و روابط بين شخصيت هاي شركت كننده در نمايش را نشان مي دهد. برادر و دو دختر مادام رانسكي، معلم پسرش (پتيا) معلمه اي كه همراه آنهاست(شارلوتا)، نوكرهايشان و چند شخصيت ديگر از جمله دوپاخين. كسي كه به گفته خودش جد و آبادش در باغ آلبالو كار كرده اند ولي حالا خودش ميليونر شده و از رو شنفكر بودن چيزي نمي داند.

شخصيت هاي نمايش نامه به خوبي نمايانگر افرادي از يك نسل و يا صاحب تفكر مشترك و يا از يك طبقه اجتماعي است. پتيا و آنيا و حتي واريا نمايانگر جوانان آنروز روسيه هستند. جواناني كه مجبورند دل به آينده بدوزند و آينده را بسازند. پتيا شخصيت روشنفكر داستان است، واريا جواني كه به سختي كار مي كند و آنيا، دختر مادام رانوسكي، هفده سال دارد و نماد جواني محسوب مي شود كه با عبور از گذشته، دلبستگي هايي كه گاهي زائد مي شوند و دست و پاي آدمي را مي بندند، قصد رسيدن به فردا و آينده اي را دارد كه خودش خواهد ساخت.

از طرف ديگر رانوسكي، برادرش گايف و ساير شخصيت هايي كه هم نسل آنها هستند و گذشته راآنها ساخته اند نيز به خوبي تصوير شده اند. در مجموع مي توان اينگونه گفت كه چخوف در ساختن جامعه آنروز و به طور خاص تر خانواده رانوسكي به خوبي عملكرده است.

ترجمه سيمين دانشور، ترجمه چندان خوبي نبود.(less)

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5 comments

Jan 19, 2010

Bettie rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

bookshelves: play-dramatisation, published-1904, re-read, slavic

Read in January, 2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Translated by Sasha Dugdale.

A new production of Chekhov's timeless study of a Russian aristocratic family forced to sell their house and beloved cherry orchard during the great social transitions of the 19th century.

Madame Ranevskaia ...... Sarah Miles
Gaev ...... Nicholas le Prevost
Varia ...... Anne-Marie Duff
Ania ...... Susannah Fielding
Trofimov ...... Gunnar Cauthery
Simeonov-Pishchik ...... Roger Hammond
Lopakhin ...... Mat...more

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Jan 24, 2010

Alex rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

Read in January, 2010

Chekhov's final play is the story of an aristocratic family in the process of losing their beloved cherry orchard. At times farcically and other times profoundly depressingly, the naive group simply ignores any and every opportunity to spare their land, confident that everything will work itself out in the end. As a middle class guy living in contemporary London, this social criticism of the death of the Russian aristocracy doesn't exactly hit home, but the creativity and wit of Chekhov's writin...more

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Jul 08, 2009

Mitra rated it:

(review of isbn 9643412482)

bookshelves: play

با وجود تشابه ﭽخوف با نويسندﮔان امﭘرسيونيست فرانسه از نظر سبك وشيوه ي بيان,بايد دانست كه جهان بيني فلسفي او با ديد و نقﻄه نظرات هم قلمهاي فرانسوي اش تفاوت دارد. امﭘرسيونيسم در ادبيات فرانسه با سمبليسم مترادف است. امﭘرسيونيسم فرانسه نيست انﮕار و نا اميد است در صورتي كه ﭽخو�...more

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Aug 31, 2007

Douglas rated it:

(review of isbn 0486266826)

bookshelves: plays

recommends it for: just about anybody

saw this a few years ago at the Steppenwolf here in Chicago and i'm sure a brilliant set design had something to do with but I was floored. read it the next day. Really should have folllowed this up with Chekhov's short stories which practically every writer who I admire gives a shout out to when asked about their favorite yarns. anyhow, enough gushing...

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Oct 20, 2009

Mohammad rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

Read in July, 2008

نمایشنامه خوبی بود و از خواندنش لذت بردم. تو این داستان اون ملک(باغ آلبالو) یک مکانی بود که شخصیت‌های در انجا جمع می‌شدند تا سخنان نویسنده را به مخاطب منتقل کنند و در واقع خود باغ البالو زیاد مهم نبود بلکه شخصیت‌های که در نمایشنامه بودند مهم بود ! شخصیت‌های که هر کدام به نحوی �...more

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May 21, 2009

Liz rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

bookshelves: 4-star, class-study-abroad-program-seminar, own, plays

Read in May, 2009

Having already read Chekhov's Ivanov, I founded myself comparing the two as a bit and enjoying this play more. It's about a family who is losing their wealth and needs to sell their cherry orchard, and I thought that was much more relatable than the story of Ivanov.

The one thing that I really enjoyed about this play was the sense of memory that I got while I was reading it. I think Chekhov did a good job of showing why this place was important to the family. I got a sense that ther...more

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Aug 24, 2009

Anutkin rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

Read in August, 2009

Yes, of;course it's a sin to some to think about Chekhov's work and Ron Jeremy acting out the head character. However, porn, sex, love, lust.. it is all the very basics of human nature. If Chekhov was alive today, writing the Cherry Orchid, how would it be different? would they be more 'juicy' scenes in the play? Back then an unmarried young woman alone in a room with a man was pretty on the edge already. An what about her step mother, traveling through foreign lands, taking care of some ...more

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Jan 18, 2010

Laura rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

bookshelves: audio-books, read-2010, russian-fiction

Read in January, 2010

recommended to Laura by: Bettie

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 19, 2007

Jordyne rated it:

(review of isbn 0486266826)

Read in April, 2007

Amusing play, characters; modern playwriting characteristics but still has plot (sort-of), can be followed.

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Apr 20, 2009

Tortla rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

bookshelves: schooly

Read in April, 2009

Hard-to-follow (especially the translation I read), and from what I could understand this play is about a bunch of people who are preoccupied with their pasts and their personal problems, and are fond of ranting about them. It's definitely not funny, nor particularly illuminating. Maybe it's better when it's performed, though. It had absolutely no effect on me, except to bore me and frustrate me (because I was trying to get actual meaning from it for class, not because it was intellectually chal...more

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Sep 06, 2008

Choupette rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

bookshelves: ab-fav, classics, drama, own-or-access, to-review

Read in September, 2006

recommended to Choupette by: IB English

It's telling that one of the most oft-written about things in literature is the snapping string in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. For me, it sums up the play. I don't know exactly what Chekhov's intentions were when he wrote it - it could have been any number of things, or no particular thing - but I feel the emotion he is trying to communicate. I feel what the characters feel when they hear it. And this is it. Chekhov trusts that the audience will feel what is appropriate, even if they don't tot...more

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Apr 27, 2008

Núria rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

bookshelves: 2008, 4-muy-buenos, literatura-rusa, mios, siglo-xx, teatro

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: apáticos

En todas las obras de Chéjov ocurre muy poco. Pero 'El jardín de los cerezos' debe ser en la que menos cosas ocurren. Una familia antiguamente próspera está a punto de perder sus propiedades. Ante sí se les presentan varias opciones para salvarla pero se quedan sin hacer nada y lo pierden todo. Básicamente porque aún viven en el pasado. Y ya está. No pasa nada más. Es una obra que habla del fin de la sociedad aristocrática y el ascenso de la burgesía. Pero no nos habla tanto de un con...more En todas las obras de Chéjov ocurre muy poco. Pero 'El jardín de los cerezos' debe ser en la que menos cosas ocurren. Una familia antiguamente próspera está a punto de perder sus propiedades. Ante sí se les presentan varias opciones para salvarla pero se quedan sin hacer nada y lo pierden todo. Básicamente porque aún viven en el pasado. Y ya está. No pasa nada más. Es una obra que habla del fin de la sociedad aristocrática y el ascenso de la burgesía. Pero no nos habla tanto de un contexto histórico sinó más bien del sentimiento de la apatía, y por consecuencia de la futilidad de la existencia, de cualquier existencia.

Pero no sólo los aristócratas se caracterizan por la inacción. Está Lopajin, que es el hijo de Don Nadie convertido en nuevo rico, que durante toda la obra se insinúa que se va a declarar a Varia, la hija adoptiva, pero no hace nada. Ni él ni ella. También está Trofímov, el eterno estudiante, que habla mucho de sus ideas revolucionarias, pero no hace más que pasar el rato con los ricachones. Además también está enamorado de Ania, la hija pequeña, pero con la excusa que su amor es platónico y ellos están por encima de todo lo banal, es incapaz de hacer avanzar su relación, de hacer nada.

Pero dicho así parece que se trate de una tragedia y no hay nada más lejos de la realidad. Todos los personajes son de lo más excéntricos, e incluso hay personajes que són claramente paródicos, como Gaiev, que habla demasiado, siempre le dicen que se calle y está obsesionado con jugar al billar. También está Pishchik, que es otro terrateniente arruinado que se pasa el día socializándose con la familia protagonista, los Gaiev, y sin hacer tampoco nada para salvar sus propiedades, a excepción de pedir contínuamente préstamos a los Gaiev, que están tan arruinados como él. Estos son los personajes más divertidos. Y en ocasiones la comedia llega incluso a ser una farsa.

Tampoco es que sea simplemente una comedia. Es las dos cosas a la vez: tragedia y comedia. Como pasa prácticamente siempre con Chéjov. Hay dos personajes secundarios que encarnan perfectamente esta mezcla de comedia y tragedia. Epijódov, al que llaman 'Don Desgracias', porque es torpe sin remedio y ridículo. Siempre está quejándose, pero sus quejas a veces sí que parecen ridículas y otras son realmente desgarradoras, como su repetición constante de que no sabe si quiere vivir o pegarse un tiro y por esto lleva siempre el revólver consigo. Y luego está Firs, el criado de 87 años, que es el símbolo de la Rusia aristocrática que está a punto de desaparecer, y que como símbolo está cargado de dignidad, pero a la vez también es ridículo porque farfulla, no se le entiende y se le va la olla.

Como todas las obras de Chéjov es divertida y triste a la vez. Como todas las obras de Chéjov lo que la hace grande son los personajes: todos perfectamente construídos con cuatro pinceladas, todos con su importancia en la obra y todos con su historia y sus frustraciones detrás. Pero es una de las obras más raras de Chéjov, porque tiene toda una colección de personajes excéntricos, porque su humor a veces llega a la parodia y a la farsa, porque habla de su Rusia contemporánea, y porque es la única obra de Chéjov en la que aparece un revólver que nadie dispara.

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Nov 20, 2007

Mitra rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

bookshelves: play

نمایشنامه ی باغ آلبالو آخرین اثر جخوف است که در سال 1903 نوشته شده است و در ﮊانویه ی 1904 برای اولین بار در تئاتر هنر مسکو روی صحنه آمده است...اشخاص نمایش همان آدم هایی هستند که در زندگی روزمره با آنها روبرو می شویم. هیچ کدام نقش بر جسته ای ندارند نه مبارزه می کنند نه شکست می خورند و ن...more

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Jun 24, 2007

Martha rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

Read in June, 2007

It is very interesting to read about russia during the change from a feudal economy to a a more modern one. It depicts the hardships of the old rich who have to leave there easy lifestyle and family land because of debt. Their beautiful cherry orchard and estate are to be turned into vacation villas by their business man friend who rose from poverty. He is the new rich, the enterpriser, without status or refinement. The poor mother has no head for money and spends when she has none to spend. Th...more

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May 29, 2007

Kelly rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

bookshelves: 19th-century, theatre

Read in July, 2003

recommends it for: everyone

This play is one of the most desperately sad things I have ever seen. It is a portrait of a family struggling in a period where old and new russia are scraping up against each other in a way that is physically painful to watch. I saw a performance of this while on study abroad at Oxford, and I went to a bookstore after the performance so I could read this over and over again to myself. These characters express so much and just accomplish so desperately little at the end of the day. Some of these...more

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Aug 29, 2009

Miss rated it:

(review of isbn 0413774031)

I read this in high school; at the time, I wasn't as focused as I shoulod have been, so I didn't understand it as well as I might have if I had read it carefully.

From what I remember, there were many, mnany characters, and the names were hard to keep track of at times, as many characters went not onloy by their given name, but by a nickname (and sometimes even two!). I gave up after a while, which I regret doing now. I'd like to try again as an adult!

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