The Summer Guest

by Alison Anderson

“The blind doctor, Zinaida Lintvaryova, stays in my heart long after I close Alison Anderson’s beautifully written book. The young Chekhov himself cannot outshine Zinaida as she urgently explores life, science, art, family, and love, her passion defying death.”
— Helen Simonson, New York Times bestselling author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

“In an enchanting era-spanning novel, Anderson crafts a literary mystery that goes beyond the limits of time.”
— Entertaiment Weekly, “Must List”

When a family from Moscow rents a cottage on young, blind Ukrainian doctor Zinaida Lintvaryova's rural family estate in the summer of 1888, she develops a deep bond with one of their sons, a doctor and writer of modest but growing fame called Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Intelligent, curious, and increasingly introspective as her condition worsens, Zinaida keeps a diary chronicling this extraordinary friendship that comes to define the last years of her life.

In the winter of 2014, Katya Kendall’s London publishing house is floundering-as is her marriage. Katya is convinced that salvation lies in publishing Zinaida’s diary, and she approaches translator Ana Harding about the job. As Ana reads the diary, she is captivated by the voice of the dying young doctor. And hidden within Zinaida’s words, Ana discovers tantalizing clues suggesting that Chekhov—who was known to have composed only plays and short stories—actually wrote a novel during his summers with Zinaida that was subsequently lost. Ana is determined to find Chekhov’s “lost” manuscript, but in her search she discovers it is but one of several mysteries involving Zinaida’s diary.

Inspired by fragments of historical truth, The Summer Guest is a transportive, masterfully written novel about an unusual, fascinating friendship that transcends the limits of its time and place. It’s also a contemporary story about two compelling, women, both of whom find solace in Zinaida and Chekhov as they contemplate all that’s missing in their own lives.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Russia, Book Club, Historical, Literature, Literary Fiction

385 pages, Hardcover

First published March 8, 2016

About the author

Alison Anderson spent many years in California; she now lives in a Swiss village and works as a literary translator. Her translations include Europa Editions’ The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, and works by Nobel laureate J. M. G. Le Clézio. She has also written two previous novels and is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literary Translation Fellowship. She has lived in Greece and Croatia, and speaks several European languages, including Russian.

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

4+ stars . Edited 5/26 to include a link to an article in the author's website which has wonderful images and a note on her writing of this wonderful novel .
http://alison-anderson.com/the-summer...
Review :
I should say at the beginning that I knew very little about Anton Chekhov, other than he was a Russian playwright and short story writer and I would be hard pressed to name something he'd written, other than The Cherry Orchard or The Three Sisters, neither of which I've seen or read . I didn't even know he was a doctor. So I'm not exactly sure what made me request an advance copy of this book , other than it sounded intriguing. I fell in love with the character as the author portrayed him here and how true this is to the real person I don't know , but I am so glad to have been introduced to the character he is in this novel. But this isn't just about Chekhov but about three women whose lives are influenced by him in some way .

The past and present, three narrators , three places and two times over a century apart we meet : Zinaida Mikhailovna Lintvaryova, a physician, blinded as a result of a brain tumor. The major part of the book is her diary accounting her friendship with Anton Chekhov over two summers in Luka, Sumy, Kharkovsky Province 1888 and 1989; Katya Kendall, a publisher, hoping to publish Zinaida's diary ,in a marriage that might be in trouble, a business that is in trouble in London 2014; Anastasia Harding , the translator , divorced , trying to start a new life in a village in Eastern France in 2014.

By far I was most taken with Zinaida's story . I loved the characters here, of course Chekhov but her family too , the conversations , the intimate exchange of views on men and women of books and writing and life and death . I especially loved how Chekhov gave her descriptions of what he was seeing. There is a deep friendship portrayed here, perhaps bordering on a romantic love at least on Zinaida's part . Of the characters I loved and admired Zinaida the most. I may have given it five stars if I didn't always have the feeling while reading the other two narratives, that I just couldn't wait to get back to Zinaida's diary.

What's truth , what's fictionalized becomes clear by the end of the novel and in the author's afterword. But what is true for me is that I was so taken with this writing, beautiful prose in my view, with learning something about Anton Chekhov that has made me want to read some of his stories. There are always questions when I read fictionalized accounts of real people. The author does point out that the inspiration for the book was Chekhov's letters. There is something towards the end of the novel that put me at peace that there is truth in this fiction:

"Was that not the beauty of fiction, that it aimed closer at the bitter heart of truth than any biography could, that it could search out the spirit of those who may or may not have lived, and tell their story not as it had unfolded, as a series of objective facts recorded by an indifferent world, but as they had lived it and, above all felt it? "

"I believe you are right. It's why we read. It's why we need our writers."

Perfectly said and for me explains why I love reading historical fiction.


Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one I had put down at one point, but after reading Angela's review, picked it back up. Another advantage to reading friends review, Chrissie's this time too, I knew what and what not to expect. Chekov of course being the draw for this one, I knew not to expect much in the way of information about him, though there was some. But, I came to love the three women's stories in their own right, three different threads, different time periods. Three woman who used Chekov, though only one knew him personally back in the 1880's, to come to terms with events in their own lives. I loved reading Zinaida's diaries, though her illness was very sad, for the most part the diaries celebrated life, family and friendship. This part was my favorite. A little mystery thrown in, a journey to the past and a revelation I didn't see coming.

So I ended up enjoying this quiet read, these three women and whatever information there was about Chekov. Sometimes the second time is the charm. In this case it was.

Arc from publisher.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Nearly 4.5) Presuming this was a debut – I’d not heard of Anderson, though she’s a respected translator from the French and has two other historical novels to her name – I had low expectations and was pleasantly surprised to find an elegantly plotted story about writing, translation, illness, and making the most of life. In short, this is the book that Rachel Cantor’s Good on Paper was billed to be, but where that was a sore disappointment this one is a treasure.

The kernel of the novel is a true story: for two summers in the late 1880s, Chekhov (known here as Anton Pavlovich) stayed at the Lintvaryovs’ guest house in Luka, Ukraine. One strand of the narration is a journal kept during those years by Zinaida Mikhailovna, the family’s eldest daughter. She and her sisters were highly educated for their time; two, Zina and Elena, had even become doctors. The physician’s profession is something Zina and Chekhov have in common, then – the difference being that Zina, aged 30, is dying of a brain tumor. Already it has taken her sight, and now it’s causing headaches and seizures. She knows she might not have much time left, yet she throws herself into passionate conversations with their distinguished guest about art, family and the meaning of life. Her brother has rigged up a box with a moving ruler that will help her keep her lines straight, and she hopes that by passing on her writing to her newborn niece she’ll gain some modicum of immortality.

I loved Zina’s voice and the glimpses into Russia’s literary world. But that’s not the whole scope of the novel; Zina’s short, somewhat tragic life is offset by two contemporary women. Katya, a Russian émigré in London who’s trying to keep her husband’s failing publishing house afloat, sends the never-before-published diary to Ana, a translator based near the French border with Switzerland. The diary is meaningful to both of them for different reasons, and there’s also a touch of mystery to it: where was it found? Why had it not come to light before? And what has become of the novel Chekhov mentions he had in progress at the time? Ana’s search for the answers to these questions will take her to the Lintvaryov estate, even though Ukraine in 2014 is a hotbed of unrest.

Having recently watched the BBC War & Peace miniseries with rapt interest and seen a Tchaikovsky symphony performance, it was the perfect time for me to get lost in an intricate, playful novel about how Russian literature still resonates. Who knows, I might even be inspired to pick up some Chekhov. I’ll certainly be looking up Anderson’s other novels.

[Chrissie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book composed of three threads, three stories about three different women, set in two different time periods and three places – Ukraine, London and provincial France. One woman is a publisher (Katya Kendall), one the translator of diaries to be published (Ana Harding) and finally the author of the diaries (Zinaida Mikhailovna Lintvaryova). Over the summers of 1888 and 1889 the Chekhov family stayed at the dacha on the Lintvaryova estate. In her diaries Zinaida writes of those summers, her time spent with Anton Chekhov and his family. Zinaida has a brain tumor, is blind and is dying. That is what we are told. The story about the publication of the diaries is set in 2014 when Russia occupied Crimea, part of Ukraine. The Lintvaryova estate did/does exist. It is in Eastern Ukraine, outside the village Sumy. The author provides further information on her site: http://alison-anderson.com/the-summer... Click on the word “images” in the second paragraph to view the people and the estate. (I must thank my GR friend Angela for providing me with this link.) The three threads do tie together at the end, but each thread focuses on different themes. I found this distracting. Marriages in dissolution. Feminism. The role of a translator. Fiction versus non-fiction. Illness and death. The Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014. Too many themes to do any one properly.

There are accurate historical details about the Chekhovs, but there is a large dose of fiction in this novel. There is an epilogue that clarifies, but this is hardly necessary when you reach the end. There is a mystery to be solved. To classify this as historical fiction is stretching the definition of the genre. Furthermore, while the book is promoted as being about the author Anton Chekhov, it is much more about Zinaida. It is important you understand this if you choose to read the book. The book is about her, not so much about Chekhov. I recommend it more to those who love a mystery story.

I had a terribly difficult time with the narration of the audiobook. Usually I can distinguish between what comes through my ears and the author’s words. When I suspect the narration is influencing my view of the written book I repeat the words in my head. This directs my thoughts toward the words, not the sound. I recommend the written book if you are trying to pick the best format.

The audiobook has three narrators, one for each of the three main protagonists. Zinaida’s sections are read by Julia Emelin, Lucy Rayner narrates Katya Kendall's parts and finally Kirsten Holly Smith reads Ana Harding's. What caused me the most difficulty was Julia Emelin's narration, and she carries the largest part. To my ears she sounds fluent in Russian, which ought to infuse atmosphere, but instead it comes out as halting, unclear dialect that is hard to understand. The choppiness makes it difficult to appreciate Zinaida’s philosophical musings. Rarely do these parts flow smoothly. Emelin spits out Russian names so quickly that you have a hard time catching whom she is speaking of. Zinaida has two sisters and one brother. In the Chekhov family there are five siblings to Anton Chekhov. The Chekhovs, the Lintvaryovas and the numerous visitors to the dacha over the summers of 1888 and 1889 go by their surnames, patronymic names and nicknames. Who is being referred to becomes a jumble. In summary, Emelin's narration is jerky, difficult to comprehend and the names confusing.

Lucy Rainer narrates for the publishers, Russian emigre Katya Kendall and her English husband Peter. Perhaps the narration fits the role of the couple, but it is annoying to listen to. Rainer's impersonation of Peter is laughable. The best narration is that done by Kirsten Holly Smith. She is clear and pleasant to listen to. She does the translator, Ana Harding's parts.

Alison Anderson, the author of this book, is the translator of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, which I loved. I read that one in French, so untranslated. What is interesting is that the author has previously worked as a translator. What makes a translator good? Isn’t it being invisible? This is one of the themes of the book!

Choose the written book and don't expect to learn a lot about Anton Chekhov.

[Dem]

I really like this book but I am listening to it as opposed to reading it. I prefer books like this in print version so I will order the paperback/hardback and return the audio as I am finding it difficult to concentrate and follow and I really want to enjoy this book. I do believe some books just don't come across well on audio and for me this in one of them. So will await my print copy :-)

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Anton Pavlovich Chekhov we meet within Alison Anderson’s pages is more than one of the greatest writers of short fiction in history. He’s a real charmer: right at the cusp of being recognizes for his immense talent, a self-effacing, gentle and confident young man who charms three sisters at a family estate – including the blind older Zinaida.

Anton Pavlovich (as he is referred to often in this book) once famously said, “Medicine is my lawful wife and literature is my mistress.” In this, he has much in common with Zinaida, a young doctor herself, who was forced to give up medicine when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Gradually, the friendship between Anton Pavlovich and Zinaida builds; her impending death frees her from verbal conventions and he finds himself drawn to her honesty and frankness.

We learn about the budding friendship through entries from Zinaida’s diary in 1888. (In real life there was, indeed, a friendship between Chekhov and Zinaida Lintvaryova). Years later, a promising Russian translator named Ana is given this diary to translate at the bequest of a small and failing publisher, Katya. The structure of the book – while mostly focused on the Anton Pavlovich/Zinaida story, contains alternating chapters from Ana and Katya’s perspectives.

Ms. Anderson beautifully lures us into Zinaida’s world. We like her; we believe in her. When the narrative springs to the present, we miss her and want to hear from her again. Our experience is not unlike Ana’s, who is also enthralled by the diary and her chance to shine as the translator of this work. Most compelling of all is that the diary alludes to a novel that Chekhov was writing and gave to Zinaida for safekeeping. Whatever happened to the diary? What would it mean to the publishing world if, after more than a century, the diary surfaced?

This novel, though, is more than the mystery of what happened to the novel – a mystery that will keep the reader intrigued to the surprising end. It is also about the power of words. Zinaida muses about Chekhov, “How does he do this? How does he see the tiny detail that restores sight and, with it an impression of being closer to my own life…” In addition to the magic of words, there is also the bestowment of immortality: “The fact of the immortality of his work of his spirit—it’s a vast, worthy conspiracy among the living, a consolation and a source of hope and joy.” The Summer Guest is a triumph, not just for recreating a vanished world and providing insight into Chekhov and his life, but also – and most importantly – as an affirmation of how words can give us all the will to persevere.

[Paula Cappa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great summertime read if you love historical fiction. And if you are a Chekhovian reader. Beautifully written with evocative and vivid descriptions. I really enjoyed this enchanting escape. The middle of the book gets tedious and sinks somewhat, but the momentum of this very talented writer carries you through. Alison Anderson is surely a brilliant and ambitious writer. But I have to say, honestly, the ending was a disappointment. The buildup of the friendship between Anton Chekhov and the blind and doomed Zinaida Lintvaryova during two summers on the Luka estate in Sumy deserved a deeper and more meaningful resolution. What a let down. One other thing that really bothered me was the absence of quotation marks for the dialogue. Much of the story is in diary form and written by a blind woman, so I can accept that missing quotation marks to record what people say is probably accurate and true to diarist form for Zinaida. But in the present day sections of the two other main characters, Ana and Katya, still no quotation marks for dialogue. This no-quotation-mark trendy device is just awful; the speaking of a character comes off as thinking or musing or muttering or just doesn't make any sound at all. "Dialogue needs to be heard. I want to hear the character speak." I find no artistic value in this kind of punctuation silliness. It just comes off as gimmicky or pretentious in fiction.

[switterbug (Betsey) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three women’s lives intersect, bridging the past and the present, crossing the borders of time. One woman is long deceased, but what she left behind could alter the destiny of the other two. Katya Kendall, a Russian émigré married to a Brit, is trying to save her small, financially troubled publishing house, as well as a static marriage. She’s contacted Ana Harding, a reclusive American translator, living in France (on the border of Switzerland), to translate a century- old Ukrainian diary into English. Ana’s career and personal life have stagnated; this could be an opportunity to engage with something fresh and inspiring. Two women, reaching in the past--to secure a future.

In 1888, a 30 year-old Ukrainian doctor, Zinaida Lintvaryova (Zina), blinded by a terminal illness, chronicled her friendship, over the course of two summers, with a young literary artist on the cusp of fame--Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Moreover, the diary suggests the potential discovery of an unpublished Chekhov novel, (he was known only for short stories and plays). For Ana and Katya, a dead, blind woman could open their eyes to success and redemption. The revelation of an unpublished Chekhov novel would have large-scale significance.

When Chekhov was 28, he and his family spent two summers at the Lintvaryova estate in Luka, a lovely, peaceful countryside by the river Pysol. The two cultured families enjoyed each other’s company, with boating, fishing, lively dinners, music, and spirited conversation. Zina, felt renewed. “The voices of the Chekhov brothers as they laugh and prepare their lines for fishing, little suspecting that it is somewhere deep inside me that they cast their lines. They pull me up toward an even brighter light. I can almost see it glinting on the surface.”

But it is with writer-doctor Anton that she feels a special, singular bond; their candid exchanges and rich observations are a shared and rare gift. “Never let a moment escape that hasn’t been turned over in your hands, inspected for honesty and fullness and awareness.” Zina’s diary is eloquently written, penetrating and elegiac, turning over the meaning of legacy and memory, taking in the sublime beauty of her surroundings. I was immersed in the delicate shape of her thoughts and her friendship with Anton. His life was just taking off, while hers was winding down. "I could not see my own horizon. But his was made of words and mine of days.”

The chapters alternate between the three women; the friendship between Chekhov and Zina were the most exquisite, but as the story progressed, the spotlight on Ana and Katya pierces both Ana’s loneliness and Katya’s reticence, pulling the reader toward a transcendent denouement, weaving plotlines together like the spun, silken threads of a spider’s web. What Ana and Katya think they seek is less than what they found—“something completely unexpected and equally precious: another way of seeing the world.” It is also about crossing borders with both mind and body.

The author, Alison Anderson, is herself a translator--I read and enjoyed her English translation of THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG. She has also translated works by Nobel laureate, J. M. G. Le Clézio. It is no wonder that the subject of THE SUMMER GUEST is translation. This novel, inspired by facts, is also about the power of the imagination, to convey a story not only with objective facts, “but as they had lived it, and above all, felt it.” “It’s why we read. It’s why we need our writers.”

[Heather Fineisen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me want to read more about Anton Chekov and more by him. But this book is really about the women in the story from past and present time and their connection. The voyeur in me enjoyed the diary of Zinaida the best but all three women have compelling personal stories. This is a bit of mystery based on a true story. I do recommend this especially for lovers of historical fiction.



Provided by publisher and TLC Book Tours

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a 3.5 read for me
thoughts coming shortly

[Bob H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a luminous, well-written, well-plotted novel to immerse a reader in time and place. The core story is a diary begun in 1888, by Zinaida Lintvaryova, whose family estate in eastern Ukraine is a summer vacation spot for the Chekhov family, notably Anton Chekhov, just on the cusp of fame for his plays and short stories. Zinaida is an intriguing personality, whose sensitivity, love of life and intelligence shines through her diary; a doctor like Anton, but blind because of an advancing illness, and feeling a deepening attraction with Anton as the first summer progresses.

Two other stories intertwine with Zinaida's: Katya Kendall, who has discovered this diary and has a financial -- and personal -- interest in seeing it published before her London publishing firm goes under, and Ana (Anastasia) Harding, Katya's translator, who falls in love with Zinaida and the circumstances around the diary. As these three stories advance, the emotional depth -- and several mysteries -- advance with it. Katya and Ana's stories -- set in 2014 -- are bound up in with the new crisis in Ukraine, as there's no more market for Katya's travel books about former Soviet places as the war begins, and Ana feels compelled to risk a wartime visit to see the site of Zinaida's home. The plots, the mysteries, accelerate and twist as the stories progress. Zinaida's references to a hitherto-unknown, unpublished novel by Anton Chekhov, fascinating as it is, is but one of the mysteries.

This is a marvelous novel: its prose is warm, luminous, and the three women are compelling, with backstories that develop and emotions that engage the reader. The three plotlines are very well set out, but move well for stories set in a summer vacation and a publishing venture. The mysteries deepen, the relationships deepen, and the peripheral characters, particularly at the Lintvaryovs' estate, are well-drawn. We see a young Anton Chekhov at a crucial turning point in his life and art. And it all rings true: the Chekhov and Lintvaryov families were real, the estate at Luka, outside Sumy in Ukraine, are real, and the author's research and fictional retelling of their stories seems genuine, and fascinating.

Highest recommendation.

[Gail Richmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began this book three times, and it was only after reading reviews and researching the background of the real events on which the novel is based that I finally progressed solidly into the novel. Each time I began, I read a little further into the text, and it was the diary section that tripped me up. Yet, because it was in diary format, I finally had to accept that short phrases and poorly punctuated sentences were okay; it was as if the writer were speaking to the page.

Sections of the novel deal with imagination, creativity, family, and friendship as the lives of two middle-aged women, a translator and a publisher, and one young blind Ukrainian women intersect over time and geography in a beautiful, poignant tale of dreams and challenges won or lost. Beautiful descriptive paragraphs bring to life the setting near Sumy in the Ukraine and the diarist's descriptions of each character reveals motivations and quirks that bring Chekhov and his family as well as the servants and friends to life.

This is a story that will stay with the reader for a long time and may well lead to an interest in reading more of Chekhov and other Russian writers.

Rating: 4.5

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anton Chekhov was what led me to read this book, since I really like his stories and plays. ["The Bishop" is my favorite story.] This is not so much Chekhov's story, as that of three women and how he has touched their lives. The first is Zinaida Mikhailovna, one daughter of a gentry family, at whose dacha the author and his family stayed for two summers--1888 and 1889. This fact is historically true; we know this from Chekhov's own letters. The second is Katya Kendall; she and her husband run a small publishing company in England. The business is failing and with the English translation of Zinaida's diary, they hope to recover their fortunes. The third is Ana, a translator, hired to render the work into English. She hopes the translation will bring her fame and also, she searches for a "lost" novel Chekhov is supposed to have been working on; Zinaida has given tantalizing references to it in her diary. The novel skips from woman to woman and we get each of their stories. Zinaida is suffering from an illness that will probably kill her in the end and we see how stoically she bears it. The novel traces her friendship with Chekhov through the diary. A trip to Ukraine by Ana to trace Chekhov's footsteps those fateful summers and possibly find out more brings the novel to a shattering conclusion.

The novel was so beautifully and sometimes lyrically written, I was immersed in the world of 19th century Russian life. Zinaida came alive, as did Chekhov. The novel explored the scope and power of imagination and of friendship.

Highly recommended.

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na niektoré knihy treba mať náladu. Ja som to podobne mala s knihou Letný hosť, ktorá už na obálke sľubuje príbeh priateľstva známeho spisovateľa a nevidomej lekárky. Očakávala som sa, že to bude niečo srdcervúce o nenaplnenej láske, kde on bude jej očami... a tak som knihu odkladala, nemala som chuť na sladké romance. Nedávno som si na ňu našla čas a ostala som príjemne prekvapená, nebolo na nej nič presladené. Bolo to úprimné a citlivé rozprávanie o horúcich a lenivých letných dňoch na brehu rieky, prechádzok okolo rybníka a rozhovoroch o všetkom možnom. Ich rozhovory skĺzavali do filozofovania o živote a smrti, kultúre i politike. Niekedy dlhé a rozvláčne a inokedy celkom výstižné, typické pre danú dobu a prostredie. Postrehy o spisovateľovi Antonovi Pavlovičovi Čechovovi, o miestnej spoločnosti a svojej rodine a priateľoch podáva vo svojom denníku ťažko chorá Zinaida, ktorá postupne stráca zrak. Jej rodina cez leto zvyčajne prenajíma dom na pozemku hosťom z Moskvy, ktorí tu strávia celé týždne a mesiace. Vďaka nim celá rodina pookreje, keď trávia čas spoločnými rozhovormi a oddychom, člnkujú sa, chytajú ryby a raky. Kraj na východe Ukrajiny v 19. storočí musel byť malebný. Ale o to viac som si tie miesta predstavovala, keď sa príbeh z roku 1888-89 začal prelínať s udalosťami na Kryme a na Ukrajine v roku 2014 (a ešte viac ich vnímam teraz, v roku 2022, keď tam zúri vojna).
Tri línie príbehu sa prepletajú - vydavateľka, prekladateľka a autorka denníka sú si podobné a zároveň odlišné (vo svojich rozhodnutiach, ako viesť svoj život, v hľadaní lásky, v práci, v ktorej vidia zmysel - literatúra je jedným zo spôsobov, ktorým vnímajú krásu života). Autorka všetkým postavám vdýchla tak plnohodnotný život, že aj ja som sa cítila byť súčasťou knihy. Bavilo ma pátranie po neznámom rukopise a dobre vypointovaný záver a rada si prečítam od nej ešte niečo iné.

[Sarah Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader's edition of this novel from HarperCollins.

Beginning in 1888, over the course of two summers, Ukrainian doctor Zinaida Lintvaryova befriends Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, who lives on her family's rural estate both summers. Zinaida is suffering from a fatal illness, which has left her blind and increasingly debilitated, yet able to record her experiences in a diary. Chekhov is on the verge of a brilliant writing career: "These were his last weeks of relative anonymity, of normality, before the outside world began to claim him, in both senses of the term, good and bad" (38). He confides in Zinaida about his work on a novel and asks her to keep this novel a secret.

In alternating chapters, the novel shifts perspective to 2014, when Katya Kendall, whose marriage and London publishing house is on the rocks, asks translator Ana Harding to translate Zinaida's diary. Ana is quickly captivated by the voice of the dying young doctor and her famous friend and becomes inspired to find the lost Chekhov manuscript that Zinaida writes about in her diary. Yet her search reveals several mysteries surrounding the diary and this period of Chekhov's life.

The author did an excellent job of weaving true historical facts into an inventive and believable work of fiction. Chekhov did indeed spend two summers in the Ukraine and the Lintvaryova family were real people. Additionally, the frame story, where Ana is busy working to translate Zinaida's diary was a more inspired context than many works of historical fictions, which often try to weave more tenuous and thus less believable connections between historical and present day characters. Like Ana, I felt more and more drawn to both Zinaida as a character and the story of her friendship with Chekhov as the novel unfolded.

Furthermore, Anderson did an excellent job imagining the world from a perspective of a blind narrator. Zinaida's poignant reflection on life without sight were moving and felt true to life; "Sometimes I like to think I can smell the clouds, a faint crisp dampness, full of blue" (19). Ironically, it is Zinaida's blindness that allow her an intimate insight and closeness with Chekhov: "Without my gaze, he was free in a way that no sighted presence could ever allow. That is the harsh, uncomfortable truth about sight that I have discovered only since I've lost it: Others may use one's blindness to find a place to comfort" (167).

This novel is also an interesting meditation on the nature of writing itself. Katya struggles to stay afloat in the world of publishing, Ana works diligently to truthfully translate, Chekhov struggles to finish his novel, and Zinaida labors to continue to put words to the page in her new sightless reality. Chekhov feels overwhelmed by the scope of a novel; "It's the scale of it, you see, to fill a whole novel, you need the trajectory of a life. It's overwhelming at times" (212). Zinaida must re-learn to write, slowly and carefully to try to maintain legibility for the seeing world. Even while Chekhov's writing is gaining fame and renown, Zinaida and her writing is fading away, sometimes literally: "Yesterday Natasha walked by and said, What are you writing? The page is blank, poor sister! It is so hot that the ink dries in the inkwell" (236). Despite the struggles and the failures, it is in writing that these characters make connections to each other and maintain a legacy that lasts beyond their own lifetime.

The novel's ending took me by complete surprise and forced me to contemplate the connection to characters when viewed through the lens of fiction versus non-fiction. My one complaint with this novel is that Anderson took on too many storylines in the 2014 storyline. Both Katya and Ana's stories felt unfinished. In particular, Ana's brief run-in with her former husband felt arbitrary and without bearing on the rest of the novel. It merely took up space and introduced a complexity that wasn't needed.

[J. Else · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ukraine, late 1880s: Zinaida Lintvaryova is an educated woman planning to live her life helping others as a country doctor, but at 30 years old, she loses her sight from a brain tumor. To help fill her time, Zinaida begins a diary. Her family retreats to their country estate and, to help with household expenses, rents out their guest house over the summer. A family from Moscow comes to stay, and their son is growing in fame as a writer: Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Through Zinaida’s writing, the life of this seminal literary artist is described. Over a century later, two women work to translate and publish Zinaida’s diary. While reading about Zinaida’s life, both women begin to find peace in the midst of their own personal struggles.

The characters in Zinaida’s diary are diverse with multi-layered personalities, and the Ukrainian countryside is vividly described. However, it’s the developing relationship between Zinaida and Chekhov that is the story’s honest, heartfelt magic. As Zinaida remembers her summers and a manuscript Chekhov left unfinished, she thinks, “Sometimes I lie in bed and remember the story and write my own ending, a different one each time. I’m glad he hasn’t finished it yet, that the future can still be written.”

The final plot twist left me slightly unsettled. I understood the author’s reasons for the choice, but it’s not one I favored. It would have been nice to spend more time with the modern characters so the end surprise would have carried greater emotional weight. These women were simply less well developed.

Anderson’s prose is delightful: “Never let a moment escape that hasn’t been turned over in your hands, inspected for honesty and fullness and awareness,” says Chekhov. It’s fluid in movement, insightful and intelligent in conversation, and richly emotional. This is a well-written, engaging read.

Review can also be found at: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/re...
APPEARED IN: HNR Issue 76 (May 2016)

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was eager to read this novel, the story of a blind female doctor, a member of the family with whom the Chekhovs spent two summers. It's written in the form of Zenaida Mikhailovna's diary and recounts the friendship formed between the two doctors, she and Anton Chekhov, also known for his short stories and plays. Initially, I got caught up in it, but eventually I found the conversations and musings rather cl0ying and, well, just plain dull. How many descriptions of picnics and walks along the river can you read before falling asleep? And then there's the constant tension of feeling that Zenaida would like something more than friendship with Anton, if only she weren't blind and dying.
The author also decided to employ the overused double plotline: the other involves a modern day translator and the female publisher who has asked her to translate the diary. Both are struggling financially and have hopes that the translation will pull them out their troubles. Ana, the translator, has a problematic past with men, and the publisher's marriage seems to be falling apart. The author twists the ending in a way that I found more annoying than interesting.

Reading what I just wrote, I'm surprised that I gave this one three stars. But it is well written, and some of the descriptions are captivating. I just feel that this trope of the modern-day writer finding a lost/hidden/forgotten manuscript has become very tired and needs to be put to rest, at least for a while.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars to the writing, 2 stars to the plot.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rate this 4 1/2 stars. This was a most intriguing book about author and playwright, Anton Chekhov. I had heard his name in the world of Russian literature, but had not read anything by him. This is historical fiction based on letters and diaries and lots of research by the author. The premiss is that a translator, who lives in France, is asked to translate a diary which was written by a female Russian physician who lived in the 1880s in Ukraine, and who's family offered their summer guest house to the extended family of Anton Chekhov. I did not know before reading this that Chekhov was also a physician as well as a writer; doctor first, writer second. The female physician in the story has developed a brain tumor and is now blind and suffers from seizures and terrible headaches. She and Chekhov form a wonderful friendship and discuss many topics over the course of time he spends in her little village of Luka. She is able to keep a diary by setting a ruler on her page and sort of using it as a guide to keep her writing straight. The writing is poignant and lovely and you can imagine yourself in this Ukrainian village, which in recent years is trapped in the Crimean war with Russia. Interestingly enough, the author of The Summer Guest, actually is a translator as well as an author and she speaks Russian as well as several other languages. As with many Russian novels, keep a pen and highlighter close by to track who is who as you begin the book. Thankfully, at the front of the book is a list of characters. I actually started reading this on Kindle, but soon realized that would never work, especially because it does not contain a cast of characters and I knew I needed the book in paper form so I could highlight and take notes. I hope to review this for book club next year. I highly recommend it.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not quite a four star book for me but there it has enough things going for it to warrant a strong review. It purports to be a book about Anton Chekov who is the summer guest of the title - staying with the Lintvaryova family in Ukraine. This much is factual and the writer has also used Chekov's letters and a visit to Ukraine to inform her fictional world.

However, Chekov remains an enigmatic character, with the main interest lying in the story of the narrator, Zinaida Lintvaryova - a young doctor blinded by a brain tumour and awaiting her death. Her conversations with Chekov explore the world of the senses and what mortality means for a young, intelligent woman in the 1880s in Russia. Her journals contain some very thoughtful and lyrical writing.

The other main interest for me was in the setting and the period - when political ferment was rising, when wealthy women could opt for a career and where the bucolic nature of country estate life was challenged by the hardships of the peasants even though they had been legally freed twenty years earlier. In many ways the life depicted in this novel is the world of Tolstoy rather than the world of Chekov. I have read quite a few novels set in Russia of late and find myself intrigued and eager to learn more of this complex country and its peoples.

Alison Anderson, herself a translator, has two modern stories running in parallel to her historical fiction. The first is about Kate, a publisher whose business is faltering; the second is about Ana, the translator Kate employs to translate Zinaida Lintvaryova's journals. Towards the end of the novel Ana travels to contemporary Ukraine, caught up in hostilities with Russia) and her discoveries lead to an unexpected narrative twist. This is the second novel I've recently read where the twist at the end meant that you should really re-read the whole novel and see it through a different prism (I won't though). Although Anderson brought all three stories together at the end, it was the Ukrainian summers and the philosophical discussions of Zinaida and Chekov, that held the most interest for me.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful story of a deep friendship (through a diary) between Zinaida Mikhailovna Lintvaryova and Anton Chekhov which takes place in the late 19th Century in the Ukraine. Since Zinaida is going blind, (due to a brain tumor) it reflects both the
frustration of losing her sight and the sixth sense that blind people develop. Since both are doctors, there is much to reflect upon in the seen and unseen world. Lots of family members interact with them. Also includes stories in the present day with the publisher and translator which interweave well with the book.

[Ettelwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Už dlouho jsem nečetla tak nádhernou knihu. I když v ní osud rozdává tvrdé rány, příběh je to jemný, plný pravd, všedních věcí, knih a místy i lehkého filozofování. Autorka spojila několik prvků dohromady a tyto prvky skládají skvělý rámec pro příběh v době Čechova, ale také v době nynější.
Tato kniha se opravdu povedla, autorce se povedlo vytvořit fikci ve fikci a to na základě skutečných postav. Tak ráda bych si představovala, že se alespoň něco přesně takhle stalo..

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. I long for a place like Luka in both look and feel. My heart stays with Zinaida.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars instead of three for the disappointing ending. 👎 Frequently the story dragged, and I found myself rolling my eyes at the inflated self-importance the author gives to translators.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just brilliant...I was entirely fascinated and never guessed how it would end! This is a real writers' novel....it made me see why I follow this path myself. Now I must begin to reread Chekhov!

[Jaksen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, elegantly-written, exquisite book!

It's three stories braided into one. Now, doing two stories simultaneously can be a real challenge and few writers, IMO, can pull it off. But Anderson intertwines THREE stories...

The first concerns a publisher, Katya, whose company is failing, unable to keep up with changing times - and changing political climates. (Her best-sellers are travel books for countries in Eastern Europe, including Russia and the Ukraine. No further explanation is needed here, I think.) Struggling to pay bills and keep her company afloat, Katya is planning to publish a newly-discovered diary written by a young woman who knew Anton Chekhov, the playwright and short story writer.

The second story is about the translator, Ana, who's been hired by Katya to translate the diary. There are also suggestions that Katya may have the novel Chekhov was reputed to have written. (Chekhov is only known through his plays and short stories.) This diary was written by a young, female, Ukrainian doctor who went blind and died of a young age in the late 1800's...

Which is the third story, that of the diarist herself, Zinnaida, who lived in the Suma area of the Ukraine with her family on a beautiful country estate. Her family's 'summer guest' is Anton Chekhov himself, who spends two summers with his family in the guest cottage on the estate.

As Zinnaida's health worsens, she spends time with her family, their guests, and Chekhov, who interacts with her in a way that is unique and beautifully expressed. (This is not a romance novel.) It's hard to put into words, but Zinnaida finds in Anton Pavlovich Chekhov a sort of solace and energy. Their conversations are as delightful as they are insightful; this was the best part of the book. Zinnaida also has an effect on Chekhov - on his outlook on life as well as his early difficulties in writing as he is much in demand by his large family and friends.

The author, Alison Anderson, is both a translator and writer herself, and she truly understands what it is to be a writer beset with a hundred responsibilities and distractions. At this time in Chekhov's life, the early years of his fame, there's a multitude of demands on him. This is an age-old dilemma for many writers, the conflicting demands of society - friends, family, publishers, etc. - versus the solitude which most writers need in order to write. Zinnaida, though, is like a muse for Chekhov, yet not in the classical way. She's not the beautiful woman who inspires a writer to poetry, etc.; she's more of a confidante who inspires him in a deeply intellectual and emotional way. Like I said, hard to describe.

Anyhow, I read the book in two days, one of those I-can't-put-this-down-until-I'm-done books. I loved it!

I also won this through the Goodreads giveaway program and am so glad I did!!

Wish I could give it five SIX stars.

[Nancy Freund · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was rapt. Every page. It's three stories in one -- at least three -- and all three had me hooked. There's Ana Harding, the newly divorced, slightly-free-slightly-shell-shocked literary translator of Russian and French to English living in a quaint French village. There's Katya and Peter Kendall, who run a failing London publishing house specializing in the dwindling Russian guidebook market, and there's the central star of the novel, Zinaida Mikhailovna Lintvaryova, whose near-death diaries have been found in England and demand translation today by Ana Harding via the Kendalls. Zinaida's diaries beautifully record an astonishing relationship between herself (and her sisters) during their two summers hosting Dr. Anton Pavlovich, aka Chekhov, and his extended family. Even as Zinaida's health declines (she is completely blind at the novel's start, and writing in ledgers that her sisters must confirm are still legible, though appear to have been written by a drunk), she and Chekhov share an unusual frankness and comfort with one another, and it's a privilege to read of its development, even through numerous filters of translation, and distance, and time. I read a Clive Barker quote this morning on Twitter: "It takes a man with real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep." I would make one small change here and say WOMAN. Alison Anderson did a beautiful thing with this book. Perhaps that shouldn't be surprising, considering that she translated Muriel Barbery's 'Elegance of the Hedgehog,' but 'The Summer Guest' is her work, and it's a thing of wonder.
I have a confession now. Despite frequent, useful conversations about "Chekhov's gun," I've never read him. I will! I really will! But now I feel like I actually kind-of know the guy. I know his face, his beard, his sense of humor and his kindness as if I'd spent a summer in his presence by a river. And I certainly know his friend and confidante and fellow doctor, Zinaida. I felt welcomed into this pastorale Russian scene from 1888 -1889, and I was as excited as Ana Harding becomes throughout her translation process when she learns more about Chekhov and the possibility of a long lost novel that might exist.
As for 'The Summer Guest,' I'm glad I didn't wait for the paperback. Harper's done a gorgeous job with deckled edges, cream paper, and a dust jacket in mint-green and gray with the title in a subtle metallic red. Too pretty for the bookshelf, I think I'll keep it on the table... where I might just pick it up to read again.

[Enchanted Prose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transported to 19th century Eastern Ukraine where an extraordinary friendship blossomed between one of the greatest short story writers and a blind doctor who saw him like no one else did (Luka, Ukraine 1888-1891; London, a French village, Geneva 2014): Alison Anderson’s The Summer Guest is an elegant stunner of historical fiction. Prose as enchanted as can be. Inspired by a little-known, enchanted friendship.

Released in 2016, set mostly over two summers from 1888 to ‘89, the novel couldn’t be more poignant in the summer of 2022 when Russia’s war against Ukraine has devastated a long ago bucolic countryside in the village of Luka, south of Kyiv. It’s here that Anderson recreates and fictionalizes Anton Chekhov’s unique relationship with a Ukrainian doctor who’d lost her eyesight to a terminal illness (also causing terrible seizures and headaches, the diagnosis revealed at the end). Chekhov was at the cusp of enormous fame. How ironic and chilling that he was born in Taganrog, Russia near the Sea of Azov bordering Ukraine’s Donbas region, an area fiercely bombarded today. Two other connected storylines set in 2014 reverberate Ukraine’s protesting of Russia’s soon-to-be takeover of Crimea.

August is Women in Translation Month, which the author co-founded. Anderson, who now devotes all her time to translating French novels (over 100), translated “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barbery, a “phenomenal” success. Who better to imagine an 1800s novel – mostly written as a diary discovered in 2014 – requiring translation from the “difficult, its beauty idiosyncratic and complex” Russian language into English? A novel in which the translator character struggles with the invisibility of her profession, hoping translating the secret diary will take her out of the shadows.

Zina Lintvaryov is the blind diary writer. Her gentle, younger piano-playing brother Georges concocts a solution to enable her to write legibly enough to record the intimate conversations she exchanged with twenty-eight-year-old Anton Chekov, also a doctor, when he and his family rented a modest guesthouse on her family’s East Ukraine country estate. The richness of their private thoughts is far-ranging: literary, philosophical, passion/love/marriage, family, and the meaning of life. Made even more special by Anderson’s glowing prose.

The writing so lifelike that one of the conversational threads – Zina’s encouraging Anton to write a long novel in the Russian tradition like Tolstoy while sheltering in this peaceful place away from all his commitments – will have you guessing whether the short story writer and playwright ever wrote a novel hiding someplace. Making their tender friendship an intriguing literary mystery as well.

The two forge the emotional essence of the novel, but there’s also a large Cast of Characters, historical and fictional. The introductory list might look intimidating, so you may want to bookmark the handy cheat sheet for quick reference until you get the hang of all the names. Presented in three lists: one for each family and a third for Their Guests. The novel shows how both Zina and Anton care deeply about family, and value their friends, literature, music, and servants.

The Lintvaryovs include Zina’s mother who owns the estate, where her five children and the wife of the older son, with a baby on the way, live. The Chekhovs include the father and one more child – five sons and a daughter. Occupations are listed alongside their names. Elena, also a doctor, is the sister Zina is closest to (both serious-minded), while younger Natasha, a schoolteacher, the playful and flirty one. Anton is closest to his brother Nikolay, an artist whose health is compromised. In addition to their given names and surnames, two more names are listed and used, reflecting the Slavic tradition of naming. For instance, Anton’s full name is Anton Pavlovich (Antosha) Chekhov: given name, then father’s first name called patronymnic (as in Anton, son of Pavel, a grocer), followed by his nickname (in parenthesis), the diminutive, catchier name.

The 2014 storylines present two other female characters that matter. Both wrestling with their own issues related to the primary story, crafted so cleverly you don’t appreciate the extent of their significance until much later. The novel approaches 400 pages; nothing is fluff. Ana, the translator, is an American living in a small village in France near the Swiss border, spending much-needed time with a supportive friend in Geneva. She’s drawn from American Constance Garnett who translated Chekhov into English. Divorced, living alone for three years, the diary promises to bring her the recognition and identity she yearns for. Katya, the publisher who contacted her, emigrated from the former Soviet Union to London. The fictionalized Polyana Press realistically portrays the struggles to stay afloat triggered by the 2008 recession, causing much tension with her husband Peter. Is that all that’s going on?

Zina, Ana, and Katya all share admiration for Russian literature.

What moves us is most is Anton’s sensitivity towards Zina, and her keen perception of the elusive Chekhov. When he speaks of her “sensitivity,” he tells her: “You go beyond the surface straight to the person, to the soul, the spirit. There is something in you – a sixth sense – that removes the barriers that sight imposes in others.” She, in turn, achingly touches us believing that extra sense, blindness, is an asset in allowing her to “see” Anton’s “true self.” This happens almost immediately. “We have just met,” he says, “but people are rarely as honest with me as you have just been.” Followed by: “You don’t know me, but you know me well.” Zina accepts her fate but dreams of some “unexpected happiness of a rare, special kind” that will befall her before it’s too late. The diary is proof of that: “He restores a fractured loveliness to my blind world,” she writes. Later he shares a similar joy: “Sitting here on the veranda, talking, we are living deeply, with our awareness of each other, our questioning of life.”

The novel also provides an unusual window into how an adult who loses their eyesight moves through the world. Likewise, we get glimpses into the hidden side of this almost mythical literary giant. The prose captures the beauty and melancholy of their ephemeral friendship, and how the peaceful landscape gave them both strength.

Zina and Anton didn’t run towards love. She recalls a young man she turned away; Chekhov believes, “Love makes a muddle of creativity.” (He didn’t marry until 1901, when he was forty-one.) Gentlemanly and respectful, he often touches and kisses Zina’s fingers.

Katya isn’t responsive to Ana’s emails, such as the one asking what to do about the absence of quotes? So you’ll read the diary as penned, which lets Zina and Anton’s voices flow as if one.

The irresistible mystery is whether Chekov, who says he didn’t have “time for novels,” actually wrote one? Another provocative question is how Katya came into possession of the diary more than a century later?

The guesthouse where the Chekhovs stayed was turned into the Chekhov House Museum. Will it survive the war? Anderson has memorialized what’s in jeopardy of being lost.

Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began reading The Summer Guest with very little knowledge of Anton Chekhov. Ivanov was assigned reading in college, so I knew that he was a celebrated playwright and story story author. That, however, was the extent to which I was aware of Chekhov's background. I'll admit, that's one of the reasons why I accepted this book for review. I'm always fascinated by historical fiction that adapts the lives of artistic people. That line between fact and fiction blurs beautifully, and I hoped that Alison Anderson would introduce me to a Chekov that was both his real self, and perhaps a bit more.

There are three narrators who lead us through this glimpse into Chekov's life, and each of them was pleasingly different. While multiple points of view aren't always my favorite means of conveying a story, in this case it was a perfect fit. Zinaida's journal entries wove together the rich landscape of the Ukranian countryside, with her thoughts on the very jovial playwright staying on her estate. Katya's story complimented this expertly, as a way of showing Chekov's ideals brought to life. Even Ana's story was an important piece of the puzzle. Her passion for translation, coupled with the fact that this very journal was what pushed her to follow her dream, gave this story balance and depth.

In fact, it's hard not to feel a kinship to these three women, as Chekov's story affects them all in different ways. I especially enjoyed Zinaida's point of view, which is happily one of the main portions of this book. Watching the world come to life through her character, was humbling. Since Zinaida is blind, there are many discussions of the importance of stillness, of listening, of using senses other than sight. A vast amount of the lushness of this novel stems from Zinaida's outlook, and her more intimate discussions with Chekov. I was smitten, and I couldn't help but be caught up in all three of the stories being told as they slowly folded together.

This is a wholly impressive story. I am not, in general, much of a reader of historical fiction. It takes a very well written, and intriguing, story to catch my attention and keep me reading. The Summer Guest accomplished that quite handily. If you're looking for a summer read, I'd recommend this without a second thought.

[Robert Blumenthal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an historical novel that is as good as it gets in that genre. It is the story of a diary written by a young woman, dying of a brain tumor, who lives in a small town in the Ukraine. Her family rents a house on their land to the Chekov family, and she starts up a deep friendship with the famous author Anton. Because of her tumor, she is totally blind. But she still has a lot of life to live, and Anton becomes both her "eyes" and her gateway to her deepest feelings. In addition, there is mention of a possible novel having been written by Chekov, which may or may not still exist. All of this is very carefully and at times almost tediously depicted in this diary.

In the 21st century, a Russian woman living in London, hires a translator to translate this found diary from Russian to English. Their stories are briefly interwoven with the passages from the diary, and there is not much narrative there until near the end when, in a highly literary manner, all hell breaks loose. The story of the translator is the more major one in present day, but the Russian woman publisher takes the stage and provides quite an emotional jolt at the end.

This ends up being a very intelligent, literate and emotionally very satisfying novel. One of the main points that is explored is what is reality and what is fiction, and does it really matter all the time. The issue of the importance of the imagination is a recurrent theme and explored well. There is quite of bit of real historical detail as involves the author Chekov and his family, and the family of the diarist really existed as well.

If you enjoy intelligent historical fiction, you cannot go wrong with this novel.