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478th out of 765 books
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1,208 voters
Sakhalin Island (Penguin Great Journeys #15)
In 1890, the 30-year-old Chekhov, already knowing that he was ill with tuberculosis, undertook an arduous 11-week journey from Moscow across Siberia to the penal colony on the island of Sakhalin. Now collected here in one volume are the fully annotated translations of his impressions of his trip through Siberia, and the account of his three-month sojourn on Sakhalin Island...more
Paperback, 500 pages
Published
April 1st 2007
by Oneworld Classics
(first published 1893)
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Jun 18, 2010
Terence
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Chekhov fans, of course
This is an abridgement of letters Anton Chekhov wrote to his family and friends during a working vacation to Russia's Far East, and of the report on the conditions on Sakhalin Island he wrote for the Tsar's government.
The report almost reads like one of Chekhov's stories. It's full of rich description and largely sympathetic protrayals of the poor souls who populated one of the remotest outposts of Russian imperialism.
And the letters describe a Chekhov who was having a great time getting to Sakh...more
The report almost reads like one of Chekhov's stories. It's full of rich description and largely sympathetic protrayals of the poor souls who populated one of the remotest outposts of Russian imperialism.
And the letters describe a Chekhov who was having a great time getting to Sakh...more
This book by Anton Chekhov is essentially a report he writes for the government describing life on the exile Island of Sakhalin off the east coast of Russia, just above japan. I was thoroughly engaged by this book even though it was slow going -- as slow going as the marshy, cold, wet atmosphere of Sakhalin. I give it 4 stars because I learned something and it's an important book. However it is only for Chekhov fans who are hungry to learn more about this man. It would not be entertaining for th...more
In 1890, renouned author and playwright, Chekhov, sick with tuberculosis and tired of the hothouse pretension of literary Moscow, travelled across Siberia to the penal colony at Sakhalin Island. Without any kind of permission or letters of introduction, he charms his way into barracks and prison cells, interviews governors and overseers, watches lashings, conducts a census the inhabitants. There is a lot of raw data in this book, but he was building a very concise report that, despite official r...more
Odd book in that Chekhov's style and concerns don't seem to marry up with the rest of his writing. I'm not aware of his having made any use of the Sakhalin material in any of his short stories for example. Interestingly you get a sense of Chekhov's professional interests as a medical Doctor. He collects statistics on health and mortality as he travels round the island.
At the time of Chekhov's visit Sakhalin was used as a penal colony, something like a Russian version of Australia. Prisioners bec...more
At the time of Chekhov's visit Sakhalin was used as a penal colony, something like a Russian version of Australia. Prisioners bec...more
Chekhov's journey to Sakhalin Island was a really interesting book showing how different life was in those days. Do yourself a favor and do not read the description of the punishment meted out to the prisoner who tried to escape which is described at the end of the book. This is profoundly disturbing - Chekhov was so disturbed he had to leave halfway through and he describes how each Russian was disturbed by it in a different way. The only person who was not disturbed by the punishment was the G...more
This book is more notable for what it offers by way of insight into Chekhov than it does standing alone. Chekhov, at the height of his fame, exiled himself to a remote island north of Japan. Tolstoy, too, displayed an ascetic streak. Something in the Russian character? By itself, the book goes a long way to explaining why it is the only non-fiction that Chekhov ever wrote. Fiction was definitely his day job. The book does provide an interesting look at the Russian penal colony as well as illustr...more
The version I read was 'A Journey to the End of the Russian Empire', part of Penguin's Great Journeys series. It proved to be a very evocative journal of Checkhov's adventure at the end of the C19th. Haphazardly scientific, recounting population numbers of villagers and wildlife, the history of the disappearing Gilyak and a disengaged description of the choreography and sensual world of sleeping with a Japanese prostitute. The description of life in the penal colony on Sakhalin is harrowing and...more
Jul 15, 2011
Ape
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
travel,
history-fact-fiction
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
"A Journey to the End of the Russian Empire" by Anton Chekov is a nice sampling of the observational power of one of Russia's foremost playwrights. The book describes Chekov's journey to Sakhalin Island, a Russian Penal colony at the furthest end of the Russian Empire. The book is very short (approximately 109 pp.) and is part of the Penguin Classic's "Great Journeys" Collection which are short, abridged travel accounts.
Many of the books images are haunting and paint the picture of a lawless, ba...more
Many of the books images are haunting and paint the picture of a lawless, ba...more
One thing I will say, is that this book isn't easy read; I don't mean, "all the big words" make for confusement, I mean the content of the narrative, can be tough to take at times. It is a good mix of charming/witty letters to friends on his journey, with a dark accout one of the worst places on earth, and its inhabitants. It is emotionally gruelling, and the end in particular, I found to be nothing short of profound. Your conscience won't be called upon, but whatever happens to be going on in y...more
Трите звезди са за огромния труд на Чехов при проучването и обобщаването на значителен обем информация за острова ( дори прави опит за преброяване на населението по време на пътуването си). Но особено първата част на книгата, в която се обхожда почти целия остров селище по селище, придружено със статистически данни за основаване, жители и география, ме измъчи. Втората, в която се описва живота на каторжниците и поселниците, затворите, поминъка и нравите, беше по-динамична и не толкова скучна. Им...more
Sakhalin Island is beautifully restrained and unsentimental. It is tremendous. It is haunting.
"In 1890, the thirty-year-old Chekhov, already knowing that he was ill with tuberculosis, undertook an arduous eleven-week journey from Moscow across Siberia to the penal colony on the island of Sakhalin. Now collected here in one volume are the fully annotated translations of his impressions of his trip through Siberia, and the account of his three-month sojourn on Sakhalin Island, together with author...more
"In 1890, the thirty-year-old Chekhov, already knowing that he was ill with tuberculosis, undertook an arduous eleven-week journey from Moscow across Siberia to the penal colony on the island of Sakhalin. Now collected here in one volume are the fully annotated translations of his impressions of his trip through Siberia, and the account of his three-month sojourn on Sakhalin Island, together with author...more
My sensitive comedian, apparently his empathy did not march toward every battered soul. He's real irked by the Siberian prisoners, but his casual amusement concerning his experiences with Japanese prostitutes made me put the book down. I tried to keep reading. Skipped around, only to find haughty descriptions of his discomfort within lodgings located at the most desolate places on earth. "Vodka everywhere on this continent but not a decent fish meal to be had?" "Why the hell does this village of...more
Habe diesen Reisebericht vor Jahren schon einmal gelesen, aus historischem Interesse damals und bin bei meiner jetzigen Lektüre vor allem von der zeitlos brillianten wie bildstarken Sprache Čechovs beeindruckt. Ebenso von seinem lakonischen Blick auf die elenden, in Verbannung lebenden Menschen auf Sachalin. (Der Mediziner Čechov behandelte im Rahmen seiner Reise auch Verbannte und Gefangene.) Seine Distanziertheit und kühle Betrachtung der Lebensumstände auf der Gefangeneninsel erinnert mich in...more
Not your average Chekhov. This is short - an abridgement of the dark and oppressive Journey to Sakhalin Island - non-fiction and produced sort of on contract. A gritty look at the penal colony and frontierland of Sakhalin, that would have been accompanied well by the contrast of an American westward migration tract, of which none come to mind. Provided me with just the right contrast to the remarkably brighter island of Revillagiggedo off the coast of Alaska, which I was visiting when reading th...more
Was sad that parts of the letters were omitted. Guess I shouldn't expect a lot from such a small book. I will try to read his Island when I get a chance.
In 1890 Chekhov travelled across Russia to the island of Sakhalin. This book is made up of two sections: the first a series of letters to family and friends covering the journey eastwards. Full of accounts of journeys by sleigh and ferry, waiting for days for riverboat connections, and the spectacular scenery of the Amur region.
The second is what reads like public articles on the conditions of life on Sakhalin which seems at that time to have dominated by convict colonies and the remnants of th...more
The second is what reads like public articles on the conditions of life on Sakhalin which seems at that time to have dominated by convict colonies and the remnants of th...more
Source: Marginal Revolution
Library: NTR, Arlington
Library: NTR, Arlington
I found this book absolutely fascinating. I literally couldn't put it down, & couldn't wait to get back to it when I did. There were at least 2 dozen times I had to google something in the book to know even more.
I was telling my (Russian) sister-in-law that I recently read two very good Russian books ( the other being Cancer Ward), & asked her if sh knows of it...turns out she does not know of the book....BUT her mother was born on Sakhalin! After picking my jaw off the floor, I started...more
I was telling my (Russian) sister-in-law that I recently read two very good Russian books ( the other being Cancer Ward), & asked her if sh knows of it...turns out she does not know of the book....BUT her mother was born on Sakhalin! After picking my jaw off the floor, I started...more
ok but same o same o
When you look at the synopsis this looks so dull but is anything but.
This was only a short book but it certainly packed a punch. The second half made for quite difficult reading.
The book is a mixture of Chekhov's letters to friends and family whilst travelling through Russia, and an account of the horrors of the penal colony on the island of Sakhalin. The letters were the first half of the book and were quite jovial, however the account of Sakhalin was harrowing to read. Reading, in graphic detail, about how the convicts were treated there sent chills through me....more
The book is a mixture of Chekhov's letters to friends and family whilst travelling through Russia, and an account of the horrors of the penal colony on the island of Sakhalin. The letters were the first half of the book and were quite jovial, however the account of Sakhalin was harrowing to read. Reading, in graphic detail, about how the convicts were treated there sent chills through me....more
Interesting account of Sakhalin, among other places. I read it because this is where many people claim Chekhov called Sakhalin "hell". In fact, he did - when he was viewing a prison on a beach and before he had even landed. Good to know he had a lot of good things to say about this island as well, and after all, it was a penal colony.
This concise account of the travels of Chekhov to the infamous penal colony in Sakhalin is fascinating. Chekhov is a skilled narrator, who writes with clarity and wit. The section on the morality of the denizens of Sakhalin is particularly matter-of-fact, and leaves a chilling feeling towards the nature of corporal punishment.
The human side of Chekhov, as he makes his way across Siberia to the prison colonies of the Russian Far East. The first half is a series of letters to family and friends; the second half is a more academic record of his observations once he reached the penal colony. The letters are more fun.
Chekhov's rendering of the conditions in Siberian penal colonies at the end of the 19th century is an astonishing, and often difficult read. The contrast between the vivid descriptions of his journey with the unsentimental reporting of life and death is apparent and stark.
This is a first hand account of life in a penal colony. It shows how penal colonies were a form of globalization. It shows that wow...it is good to have been born today...than yesterday.
jfc why
... more than the tedium of it, what disappointed me was his noble savage-ing.
... more than the tedium of it, what disappointed me was his noble savage-ing.
Read this, it's really quick, and then pick up the short novels or stories.
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Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born in the small seaport of Taganrog, southern Russia, the son of a grocer. Chekhov's grandfather was a serf, who had bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught himself to read and write.Yevgenia Morozov, Chekhov's mother, was the daughter of a cloth merchant.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloom...more
More about Anton Chekhov...
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloom...more
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