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Great Russian Short Stories
Twelve powerful works of fiction, including Pushkin's "The Queen of Spades," Gogol's "The Overcoat," Turgenev's "The District Doctor," Dostoyevsky's "White Nights," Tolstoy's "How Much Land Does a Man Need?," plus "The Clothes Mender" by Leskov, "The Lady with the Toy Dog" by Chekhov, "Twenty-Six Men and a Girl" by Gorky, "Lazarus" by Andreyev, and more.
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 29, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 2, 2012
I learned a lot about the Russian people from this, my first exposure to their literature. First, Russians fall in love incredibly easily. Second, it never ends well.
December 2, 2009
I'm not usually a fan of short stories, and picked this up because I wanted to read one of them, but was overall pleasantly surprised. Most of them were very fun to read, others were depressing but I still loved them. They confirmed how much I love the Russians' writing.
The stories (with my rating) are:
Loved - The District Doctor (Turgenev), White Nights (Doestoevsky - my favourite), How Much Land Does a Man Need (Tolstoy), The Lady With the Toy Dog (Chekov), The White Mother (Sologub).
Liked - The Queen of Spades (Pushkin), The Overcoat (Gogol), The Clothesmender (Leskov), The Signal (Garshin), The Outrage - A True Story (Kuprin).
Not a fan - Twenty-Six Man and a Girl (Gorky), Lazarus (Andreyev).
The stories (with my rating) are:
Loved - The District Doctor (Turgenev), White Nights (Doestoevsky - my favourite), How Much Land Does a Man Need (Tolstoy), The Lady With the Toy Dog (Chekov), The White Mother (Sologub).
Liked - The Queen of Spades (Pushkin), The Overcoat (Gogol), The Clothesmender (Leskov), The Signal (Garshin), The Outrage - A True Story (Kuprin).
Not a fan - Twenty-Six Man and a Girl (Gorky), Lazarus (Andreyev).
November 17, 2023
Great survey collection of short stories of great authors from Russia's Golden Age of Literature. 60% of these stories made me sad, while 30% made me laugh.
December 22, 2020
This is a wonderful collection of twelve of great stories from as many outstanding 20th century Russian authors. The selections are classic examples from Russia's Golden Age of Literature, the era before Stalin became ruler. They show man and his human weaknesses in works from fiction, nonfiction, peotry and drama.
I especially enjoyed "The Queen of Spades" by Alexander Pushkin and "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" written by Leo Tolstoy. Other delightful offerings were "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol; "The Signal' by Vsevolod M. Garshin; and "The Lady with the Toy Dog" by Anton Chekhov. The last one, "The Outrage-A True Story" was penned by Alexander Kuprin.
Included were these authors you may well recognize with their offerings: Ivan S. Turgenev, "The District Doctor;" Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "White Nights;" Nicholay Leskov, "The Clothesmender;" Theodor Sologub, "The White Mother;" Maxim Gorky, "Twenty-six Men and a Girl;" and Laonid Andreyev, "Lazarus".
I especially enjoyed "The Queen of Spades" by Alexander Pushkin and "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" written by Leo Tolstoy. Other delightful offerings were "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol; "The Signal' by Vsevolod M. Garshin; and "The Lady with the Toy Dog" by Anton Chekhov. The last one, "The Outrage-A True Story" was penned by Alexander Kuprin.
Included were these authors you may well recognize with their offerings: Ivan S. Turgenev, "The District Doctor;" Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "White Nights;" Nicholay Leskov, "The Clothesmender;" Theodor Sologub, "The White Mother;" Maxim Gorky, "Twenty-six Men and a Girl;" and Laonid Andreyev, "Lazarus".
April 14, 2021
At $5 you can't really complain. The Foreward is perfunctory and the translations vary from the clearly archaic (old Britishisms) to pretty good. Translators are not credited and there are not notes about the authors (or anything else really).
Having said that, a good mix of big names (Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy) and lesser discussed authors (at least in the west).
The stories themselves are pretty ho-hum, standard fare until Leonid Andreyev's 'Lazarus' which was new to me and is an undeniable masterpiece.
Having said that, a good mix of big names (Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy) and lesser discussed authors (at least in the west).
The stories themselves are pretty ho-hum, standard fare until Leonid Andreyev's 'Lazarus' which was new to me and is an undeniable masterpiece.
December 20, 2020
"There are some people for whom life holds nothing better or higher than a malady of the soul or flesh. They cherish it throughout life, and it is the sole spring of life to them. While suffering from it they nourish themselves on it. They complain about it to people and in this manner command the interest of their neighbors. They exact a toll of sympathy from people, and this is the only thing in life they have. Deprive them of that malady, cure them of it, and they will be utterly miserable, because they will lose the sole sustenance of their life and become empty husks. Sometimes a man’s life is so poor that he is perforce obliged to cultivate a vice and thrive on it. One might say that people are often addicted to vice through sheer boredom."
-- Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), from “Twenty-six men and a girl”
"We always talked of women in a way that sometimes made us feel disgusted with ourselves and our coarse shameless talk. That is not surprising, since the women we knew did not probably deserve to be talked of in any other way. But of Tanya we never said a bad word; no one of us ever dared to touch her with his hand and she never heard a loose joke from any of us. Perhaps it was because she never stayed long —she would flash before our gaze like a star falling from the heavens and vanish. Or perhaps it was because she was small and so very beautiful, and everything that is beautiful inspires respect, even with rough men."
-- Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), from “Twenty-six men and a girl”
"... was it by accident or design ?—he always saw her in a white dress. The impression of white became to him inseparable from his thought of her. Even her name, Tamara, seemed to him always white, like the snow on the mountain tops."
-- Fyodor Sologub (1863-1927), from “White Mother”
"There is nothing more irritable than all kinds of departments, regiments, courts of justice
and, in a word, every branch of public service."
-- Nikolay Gogol (1809-1852), from “The Overcoat” (1842)
-- Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), from “Twenty-six men and a girl”
"We always talked of women in a way that sometimes made us feel disgusted with ourselves and our coarse shameless talk. That is not surprising, since the women we knew did not probably deserve to be talked of in any other way. But of Tanya we never said a bad word; no one of us ever dared to touch her with his hand and she never heard a loose joke from any of us. Perhaps it was because she never stayed long —she would flash before our gaze like a star falling from the heavens and vanish. Or perhaps it was because she was small and so very beautiful, and everything that is beautiful inspires respect, even with rough men."
-- Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), from “Twenty-six men and a girl”
"... was it by accident or design ?—he always saw her in a white dress. The impression of white became to him inseparable from his thought of her. Even her name, Tamara, seemed to him always white, like the snow on the mountain tops."
-- Fyodor Sologub (1863-1927), from “White Mother”
"There is nothing more irritable than all kinds of departments, regiments, courts of justice
and, in a word, every branch of public service."
-- Nikolay Gogol (1809-1852), from “The Overcoat” (1842)
July 28, 2024
found a lot of russian great writers thru this collection.
The queen of spades - Alexander Pushkin Dosa menipu orang sampai kena kejar dgn hantu lololol danke. dah la tahi judi
The overcoat - Nikolai Gogol Ever saved up a coat to the point u becomes a ghost to haunt the ones who stole the money for the coat? Yep
The district doctor - Ivan Turgenev Weird vibe. A cynical doctor, tired of local ignorance, finds solace treating a young, kind woman. He questions his purpose (as u fuckin should) as he really fell in love.
White nights - Fyodor Dostoyevsky Do I need to reitirate how lonely this story made me feel?
How much land does a man need? - Leo Tolstoy Greed for land, he was promised land as much as he want as long as his feet can carry him. In the end, he only need a grave.
The clothes mender - Nicholas Leskov Reminds me of Emperor's New Clothes story, and Panic! at the disco reiteration in song form. Mocking societies and vanity, back to back story on greed is very interesting.
The signal - Vsevolod Garshin >> My first Garshin and damn, I can imagine Ivanov just by looking at Garshin picture. You did good, Ivanov.
The lady with the toy dog - Anton Chekhov>> A lady with the toy dog, subsequently a wife (to someone else) fell in love with other man(Someone else's husband). The forbidden romance blossomed, and here we are, Until August 2.0.
The white mother - Fedor (Fyodor) Sologub>> Interesting choice to put The White Mother and not The Petty Demon.
Twenty-six men and a girl - Maxim Gorky>> 26 lonely men baker with tedious routine finds hope in a girl. Comes another man to ruin the girl and the other 26's dicks.
The outrage - Alexander Kuprin>> Jews backed thieves and the thieves tried to defend themselves, because, of course.
Lazarus - Leonide Andreyev.>> He was dead, resurrected and saw the dark side way too much.
The queen of spades - Alexander Pushkin Dosa menipu orang sampai kena kejar dgn hantu lololol danke. dah la tahi judi
The overcoat - Nikolai Gogol Ever saved up a coat to the point u becomes a ghost to haunt the ones who stole the money for the coat? Yep
The district doctor - Ivan Turgenev Weird vibe. A cynical doctor, tired of local ignorance, finds solace treating a young, kind woman. He questions his purpose (as u fuckin should) as he really fell in love.
White nights - Fyodor Dostoyevsky Do I need to reitirate how lonely this story made me feel?
How much land does a man need? - Leo Tolstoy Greed for land, he was promised land as much as he want as long as his feet can carry him. In the end, he only need a grave.
The clothes mender - Nicholas Leskov Reminds me of Emperor's New Clothes story, and Panic! at the disco reiteration in song form. Mocking societies and vanity, back to back story on greed is very interesting.
The signal - Vsevolod Garshin >> My first Garshin and damn, I can imagine Ivanov just by looking at Garshin picture. You did good, Ivanov.
The lady with the toy dog - Anton Chekhov>> A lady with the toy dog, subsequently a wife (to someone else) fell in love with other man(Someone else's husband). The forbidden romance blossomed, and here we are, Until August 2.0.
The white mother - Fedor (Fyodor) Sologub>> Interesting choice to put The White Mother and not The Petty Demon.
Twenty-six men and a girl - Maxim Gorky>> 26 lonely men baker with tedious routine finds hope in a girl. Comes another man to ruin the girl and the other 26's dicks.
The outrage - Alexander Kuprin>> Jews backed thieves and the thieves tried to defend themselves, because, of course.
Lazarus - Leonide Andreyev.>> He was dead, resurrected and saw the dark side way too much.
February 12, 2025
This is indeed a collection of great stories! I would have liked publishing dates for them, but was able to look up all but one. They were all published between 1833 and 1917, and are presented in almost chronological order, which have an interesting feeling of progression.
I enjoyed almost all of them, the exception being Dostoyevsky, which didn’t surprise me as The Brothers Karamazov is the only Russian novel I have read which I really found to be an unrewarding slog to get through. I guess Dostoyevsky’s writing isn’t for me, although I am glad that so many people do enjoy it.
Most of the stories have similar structures and realistic settings, roughly contemporary to when they were written. The stories cover all classes and strata of urban and rural life which was all very informative. The details and imagery are evocative and there is a good amount of variety within those bounds.
The exception is the last story, Lazarus, set in the Holy Land and Rome at the time of Jesus. It is powerful, non-realistic, and deals in Large Statements and gloomy atmospherics and images. I really enjoyed it in a very different way from the rest.
My favourite may, predictably, be the Chekhov, which I hadn’t read before. The Tolstoy is also good, but not War and Peace good. Gorky’s Twenty-Six Men and A Girl is very powerful and memorable. The character who keeps returning to me, however, is the track checker in Garshin’s The Signal, in spite of the quiet melodrama of its plot.
I enjoyed almost all of them, the exception being Dostoyevsky, which didn’t surprise me as The Brothers Karamazov is the only Russian novel I have read which I really found to be an unrewarding slog to get through. I guess Dostoyevsky’s writing isn’t for me, although I am glad that so many people do enjoy it.
Most of the stories have similar structures and realistic settings, roughly contemporary to when they were written. The stories cover all classes and strata of urban and rural life which was all very informative. The details and imagery are evocative and there is a good amount of variety within those bounds.
The exception is the last story, Lazarus, set in the Holy Land and Rome at the time of Jesus. It is powerful, non-realistic, and deals in Large Statements and gloomy atmospherics and images. I really enjoyed it in a very different way from the rest.
My favourite may, predictably, be the Chekhov, which I hadn’t read before. The Tolstoy is also good, but not War and Peace good. Gorky’s Twenty-Six Men and A Girl is very powerful and memorable. The character who keeps returning to me, however, is the track checker in Garshin’s The Signal, in spite of the quiet melodrama of its plot.
December 30, 2020
It's a good choice to read some Russian short stories. Here you will find some classics as "the white nights" of Dostoevsky or "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" by Leo Tolstoy. Great to have some short light reading and take a glimpse at some of the tales from some of those voices and geniuses who made Russian literature a genere in itself.
You will like some. You will love some. You will be bored with some. But everyone is different and the good thing about the book is that it gives you a wide array of 12 authors and 12 different stories. I liked it and feel great I have read it.
You will like some. You will love some. You will be bored with some. But everyone is different and the good thing about the book is that it gives you a wide array of 12 authors and 12 different stories. I liked it and feel great I have read it.
February 12, 2019
A great intro to Russian Literature.
Some of the stories were really mind-bending, and the flavor of literature is really something:
The writing feels as blunt and crisp as a Russian syllable, with a warm on the inside, cold on the outside, overall solitary feeling, it's really something you enjoy getting used to.
Bonus: the stories don't all have happy endings!
Some of the stories were really mind-bending, and the flavor of literature is really something:
The writing feels as blunt and crisp as a Russian syllable, with a warm on the inside, cold on the outside, overall solitary feeling, it's really something you enjoy getting used to.
Bonus: the stories don't all have happy endings!
October 31, 2025
A very good collection overall but loses a star because I think something like this should have some notes giving modern readers some contextual help about customs politics events people things and whatnot, the reading process is much more janky when you have to go to Google to understand every third sentence.
February 15, 2023
A real treat for lovers of Russian short stories.
Great stories by some of the most reknowned Russian authors. Some are masterpieces of the short story form, others are less grand but all of them are supremely enjoyable.
Great stories by some of the most reknowned Russian authors. Some are masterpieces of the short story form, others are less grand but all of them are supremely enjoyable.
August 12, 2020
Standouts:
White Nights
The White Mother
Lazarus
White Nights
The White Mother
Lazarus
May 21, 2021
Some comedic, some tragic, some comedically tragic stories here.
March 18, 2022
Pretty good collection, Lazarus was really good.
February 9, 2024
A great collection of stories that give us a sample of the works of those masters of Russia’s “Golden age of literature “.
November 22, 2025
Despite some heavy weight names, I only enjoyed 3 of them: Tolstoy, Gorky and Kuprin. Disappointing.
January 9, 2026
Favorite stories:
White Nights (generational friendzone)
How Much Land Does a Man Need
The Lady with the Toy Dog
Twenty Six Men and a Girl
Lazarus
White Nights (generational friendzone)
How Much Land Does a Man Need
The Lady with the Toy Dog
Twenty Six Men and a Girl
Lazarus
March 24, 2011
This book contains Dostoyevsky's "White Nights", which is a masterpiece. Likewise I must say I enjoyed Andreyev's "Lazarus": I can't really say why I liked those short-stories so much, but they were a long stretch away from being classical tales.
Through these stories, I feel I've got a firm grasp of 19th-century Russian writing. It's interesting to see how it differs so much and yet so universally little from a lot of western English-speaking literature (even though this is a collection translated to English).
All in all: brilliant and a long stretch from this somewhat stressed-out day and age. A story like Gogol's "The Overcoat" is typical.
Through these stories, I feel I've got a firm grasp of 19th-century Russian writing. It's interesting to see how it differs so much and yet so universally little from a lot of western English-speaking literature (even though this is a collection translated to English).
All in all: brilliant and a long stretch from this somewhat stressed-out day and age. A story like Gogol's "The Overcoat" is typical.
December 4, 2011
Has a collection of short stories written by great Russian authours such as Dotsoevsky (Crime and Punishement) and many more. Although I do not know the period in which these short stories were written I assume that its pre-communist Russia, thus you can literally reach out and feel the desperation and the general poor conditions in which the common people were living. Like nearly all short stories, in the end there is a strange twist of faith.
April 15, 2011
I found this a mixed bag of some stories. Some of them are really good: 'The Queen of Spades', 'The Overcoat' and 'Lazarus' which was a good choice for the concluding story. Others are alright and others just remind me what a ridiculous place Imperial Russia was. I'm mainly giving four stars for Lazarus though, with its fantastic creeping dread throughout.
May 24, 2011
This collection, while far from covering all the definitive shorts of Russian Lit. - that would be a hefty volume - is excellent. There is not a bad story in this collection, with most being known fairly well among American audiences. The translations are well done, and flow well. I was very happy with my little three dollar purchase.
January 5, 2016
Some great stories in here. No surprise to hear I was especially fond of Dostoyevsky's piece. I must shamefully admit that I've never read any Tolstoy before this collection, but I am very excited to explore more of his writings. For anyone interested in Russian lit, I would definitely check this out.
July 27, 2009
These were interesting stories telling of many aspects of Russian life. The stories in this book are a great forerunner to Russian authors and their style of writing. It brought to mind again of how well the Russians write and I've added many new-to-me authors on my list of TBR.
June 8, 2012
I've just re-read this collection in a new translation. Interesting to revisit this after 20 years (probably last read some of them - The Cloak, The Lady with the Little Dog, for example - more than 30 years ago now). Still compelling and marvellous.
August 3, 2007
This isn't exactly what I'm reading. THe one I am reading is so old it doesn't have an isbn as far as I can tell. I do love me some russians.
March 11, 2013
Terrific collection of some of my favorites. Would be a great introduction gift to someone who thinks they may be interested in Russian short stories.
September 19, 2013
This is a good representative collection of short stories by Russian authors. Worth reading.
January 31, 2016
I love this book. Must read for anyone new to Russian literature.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews