Stephen Fry Presents A Selection of Anton Chekhov's Short Stories

by Anton Chekhov, Stephen Fry (Narrator), Constance Garnett (translator)

Immerse yourself in a world where the wonderful Stephen Fry reads some of the more memorable short stories of our time. A brilliant combination of reader and writer come together in these seven short stories available on digital download only.

Immerse yourself in a world where the wonderful Stephen Fry reads some of the more memorable short stories of our time. Stephen's voice takes you into a different kind of listening experience, enabling you to imagine narrative, settings, places and people with vivid colour and meaning. Enjoy the work of one of the most celebrated writers in world literature – Russian playwright and short story writer Anton Chekov. A brilliant combination of reader and writer come together in these seven short stories available on digital download only. Includes An Avenger, A Blunder, Boys, The Huntsman, The Lady with the Dog, Misery and Oysters.

Genres: Short Stories, Audiobook, Fiction, Classics, Literature, Russia

Paperback

First published December 1, 2008

About the author

Antón Chéjov (Spanish)

Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.

Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.

"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.

In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.

Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.

Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.

In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.

The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.

Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu

Reviews

[Federico DN · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somniferous.

A selection of Anton Chekhov's short stories, narrated by Stephen Fry. I'm not about to go into much detail about each one, so I'm just going to say that I heard them all and I wish I didn't. They are far too plain and simple for my taste; and I'm pretty sure I'm going to forget them all. On the plus side, they are an effective sleep inducer. Had a very nice nap a couple of times. The extra star is for the nap.

- AN AVENGER: A betrayed husband plans to murder his wife and lover, he enters a store to purchase a gun. But, alas, there are so many choices!

- BOYS: Two young boys want to leave their homes to try gold digging in California, but their escape plan is not exactly fail-safe. 'Plan' may be an overstatement.

- THE HUNTSMAN: A game hunter and his estranged wife accidentally meet on a road. After twelve years of arranged marriage, the truth finally comes up. The truth is boring.

- THE LADY WITH THE DOG: A married misogynistic man falls in love with another married woman, who happens to own a dog. They start an affair. That's it.

- MISERY: A saddened carriage driver tries to tell his tragic story to many of his traveling passengers. He fails. Repeatedly.

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[2008] [Collections] [Audiobook] [Not Recommendable]
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★★★☆☆ Ward No. 6 [3.5]
★★★☆☆ Narraciones
★★☆☆☆ Stephen Fry Presents A Selection of Anton Chekhov's Short Stories

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Somnífero.

Una selección de cuentos cortos de Anton Chekhov, narrados por Stephen Fry. No voy a entrar en mucho detalle sobre cada uno, sólo voy a decir que los escuché todos y desearía no haberlo hecho. Son demasiados simples y sosos para mi gusto, y estoy bastante seguro que voy a olvidarlos todos. En un lado positivo, son un efectivo inductor de sueño. Tuve una linda siesta un par de veces. La estrella extra es por la siesta.

- VENGADOR: Un esposo traicionado planea asesinar a su esposa y su amante, entra a un negocio a comprar un arma. Pero, por desgracia, hay demasiadas opciones!

- NENES: Dos nenes planean abandonar sus hogares para desenterrar oro en California, pero su plan de escape no es a prueba de fallos. 'Plan' es posiblemente una exageción.

- EL CAZADOR: Un cazador de ciervos y su esposa alienada se encuentran accidentalmente en un camino. Después de doce años de matrimonio arreglado, surge la verdad. La verdad es aburrida.

- LA SEñORA CON EL PERRO: Un esposo misógico se enamora de otra mujer casada, que parece tener un perro. Empiezan un amorío. Eso es todo.

- MISERIA: Un acongojado conductor de carruajes trata de contar su triste historia a varios de sus pasajeros de viaje. Fracasa. Repetidamente.

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[2008] [Colección] [Audiolibro] [No Recomendable]
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[John Wiswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This needs to be reviewed from three angles. On the first you have Anton Chekhov, the brilliant writer who gave us the enclosed short stories. But then you have Constance Garnett, who translated them into the language we can understand, and Stephen Fry giving all of it voice. That these people didn’t meet is unfathomable once you listen; Chekhov’s plotting, Garnett’s words and Fry’s voice meld into a quirky and sometimes slanted view of possibility. Fry’s musing tone perfectly compliments the passions and idiocies of characters trapped in tiny packets of plot. The end product is sublime.

In a few stories you’ll recognize Chekhov’s brilliance. With only necessary exposition he takes you into a premise (man wants a gun; man meets a beautiful woman), wraps you up in people defined by their desires (revenge, love, sex, dinner) and quirks (pretentions, cupidity, inadequacy). In less than a page a page (or less than two minutes in audiobook time) Chekhov gets the story going, which is an utterly lost art in today’s literary landscape. And his stories are slices of the human condition, idiosyncratic and entirely worthwhile. It’s a man who wants a gun, to kill his wife, his wife’s lover, or himself in grief. It’s two kids planning to run away to Africa. This is not slice of life, but slice of human desire, ambition, foolishness and fallibility. The good bits, kept brief.

How many of the phrases and how much of the slickness of prose is Chekhov’s or Garnett’s is harder to decipher. With Fry’s narrative ability, any possible clunkyness of Chekov’s composition or Garnett’s translation disappears. Fry has the ear for how people do speak and can speak; anywhere a simple reader might hear as awkward, he sees enunciation. Once you hear it, it’s hard to think of the short stories as anything but flawlessly conversational. If you know much about Chekhov, though, you’ll probably chalk that up to him and congratulate the translator and narrator on getting it right.

[Ivy-Mabel Fling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although Chekhov is certainly better known for his plays, his short stories are also excellent. The Lady with the Lapdog is probably the most popular but I discovered Misery in this collection and felt it was one of the best descriptions of misery/depression that I have ever read. Stephen Fry read the stories brilliantly and fortunately there was no background noise to drive the listener mad!

[FoxClouds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook more than once. I love Chekhov and I love Stephen Fry.

I only wish the collection would end off with a more lighthearted story.

It includes several quite well know stories.

[Stephy Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

 I heard this audiobook compilation of Anton Chekhov's short stories the other day. This small audiobook under 2 hours consists of 7 great short stories.  

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 1. An Avenger: This is the story of a husband who wants to revenge his wife for her infidelity. The story explores the different thoughts that the man had to fight to stick to his decision to kill.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

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2.Blunder: Okay! Its the tale of a couple who so desperately tries to marry off their daughters.  Well, the title signals what happened after. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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 3.Boys: This is the tale of two boys whose plan to run away in search of gold went wrong. It's an okayish story.

🌟🌟🌟

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4.The huntsman: The story is all about a brief conversation between a man and his estranged wifeAlthough it provides an insight into the prejudices of gender and class, I didn't perceive it to be a great story.

🌟🌟🌟🌠
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5. The Lady with the dog : This is the tale of an extramarital affair between an unhappily married man and a young married woman. The tale portrays how one's expectations of life get overturned by unpredictable reality. It's one of the greatest short stories ever written. 

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6.Misery: It is the story of an old man who desperately and unsuccessfully tries to talk to people about his grief. The story explores human grief and the need for compassion.

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 7.Oysters: A beggar's child, delirious from hunger, falls victim of a cruel practical joke by the people from the tavern, which his father stops nearby to beg for money.

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Have you read any of the above short stories?

꧁𝘴𝓽ꫀρꫝꪗ꧂

[Tracy Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Fry never disappoints. The combination of Fry and Chekhov is a happy one with Fry finding the exact right tone to express Chekhov's sly humor, his irony, and his humane view of life.  Often the stories don't appear to have an ending, they just stop.  Sometimes they don't appear to be about much of anything.  And yet they are tiny gems of observation and analysis.

Some of them made me laugh. Some, like Misery, brought me to tears because I understood what Chekhov was saying about loss and the need to make sense of it.  All of them made me smile, either in appreciation or agreement.  Or both.

This was my first foray into Chekhov's short stories, and I was enchanted by them.  I want more.  I hope some of them will be narrated by Stephen Fry.

[Heather Bassett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chekhov ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Stephen Fry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audiobook production ⭐️
The way there is not even the tiniest pause at the end of each story somehow really ruined my enjoyment

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful narration of seven of Chekhov’s best short stories.

[Loet Van 'T Westende · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prachtige verhalen maar zeker ook heerlijk voorgelezen door Stephen Fry

[Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Stephen Fry is awesome, but Chekhov is so grossly over-rated. I’ve also read several of these stories before. I think “Misery” is truly the best of the lot, and that “The Lady with a Dog” is utterly banal.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were lovely but this edition warrants a 3 because the reader did not vary his tone much, story to story or within stories. A comparison with Kenneth Branagh's rendition of Misery is a case in point - Fry's reading is so energetic that the it is hard to hear the shattering quiet of the cab driver's loneliness, something Branagh achieved so well.

Fry's energetic approach served The Blunder and Boys quite well and I was laughing out loud ... just not so good with Chekov's poetic pathos.

[JZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, because of Stephen Fry.
This collection just gets sadder and more desperate as they go by.
Since it comes in two parts, I suggest listening to the second mp3 first, because the levity just disappears the other way around.

I fortunately listened to them like this, by accident, mostly, and then, was so delighted that they weren't as dire and miserable altogether.

Chekhov has always been a mixed bag for me. The desperation of the characters of Russian literature keeps me from reading more.

The first stories have redeemed that.

[Angel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love Stephen Fry's narration, too bad that the stories were bland and flat.

[Gary McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything narrated by Stephen Fry is worth a listen. He is my favorite narrator and is well known for his Mythos series of books. This short collection of stories was an interesting choice. The strongest story in my opinion, “An Avenger,” is bracketed by the weakest story, “A Blunder.” Chekhov wrote over 200 short stories, and this collection doesn’t contain any of what is considered his best. While “The Lady with the Dog” has good reviews, I found it rather tedious and had no compassion for the two main characters.

1. An Avenger - A man is purchasing a handgun to kill his wife, her lover, and himself. The story follows his continuing analysis (in his head) of what he should do to avenge this wrong. All the while, the shopkeeper is trying to convince him that the Smith and Weston is the best gun for the job.
2. A Blunder - Parents eavesdropping on their daughter and her male visitor trying to judge the right moment to present a statue of Jesus binding them to marriage.
3. Boys - Boys who want to go on an adventure across the world. Along the way, they see themselves battling tigers, etc., and ending up digging for gold in California. The interesting thing about this story is that Russia seemed to have a romantic impression of California and the gold fields.
4. The Huntsman - A hunter carrying a dead blackcock (grouse, large game bird) across his shoulder comes across a woman with a sickle working with other women as a laborer. She hails him, and we are soon told she is his wife of twelve years. We also learn the huntsman married below his status because he was drunk for a month. He also beats his wife when he is drunk. They don’t see each other, and he doesn’t provide for her. He has, however, built a hut for his mistress named Akulina. By the end of the story, it is clear they will remain married and separated, him with his mistress and her living in the village close to poverty. Before he leaves, he gives her a crumpled rouble note, and she watches as he walks away. It is clear she loves him and wishes he would love her back, but for the reader, it is clear this will never happen, and they probably won’t see each other again. The rouble he gave her represents close to two weeks’ salary for her, so that was something, but very little. Is this a clear representation of Russian country society in the late 19th century?
5. The Lady with the Dog - An older man, Dmitri Dmitritch (40), and a younger woman, Anna Sergeyevna (20+), are on extended vacation at Yalta. Yalta is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula. It was also the location of the famous meeting between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin in 1945. The man Dmitri has affairs with often, and this seems to be common knowledge to his wife, who does not travel with him. Of course, he finds a way to meet the young woman, and they begin an affair. The man who calls women “the lower race” is disappointed when she needs to return to her home after a telegraph from her husband. After they both return to their homes, the man realizes how much he misses Anna. He decides to travel to her hometown and he manages to meet her at the theater. She tells him to leave, promising to meet him in Moscow. Anna meets him in Moscow, telling her husband she has an internal complaint. Anna and Dmitritch finally realize they are in love, him for the first time. Even though they live in different towns and only see each other at long intervals, they know a solution will be found, and then their life together will begin. One final note: Dmitritch says love has found him only after his head is grey, and the dog, a white Pomeranian, has nothing to do with the story other than a way for them to meet.
6. Misery - A cab driver’s son has died, and while performing his job, he is unable to find anyone who cares and wants to talk about his loss. As he takes fares to their destination and tells them of his loss, they are not interested and are only interested in their plans. The best part of this story may be the description of the snowfall on the cab driver and his horse. In the end, he talks of his son to his horse once they are back in the stable eating hay. He compares the loss of his son to the horse losing a foal, and the horse listens while munching on hay.
7. Oysters - A boy of eight stands with his father in the street across from a restaurant. Neither of them has eaten and is suffering the effects of starvation. The boy sees a sign in the restaurant and asks what it says, and his father replies, “ oysters.” After his father’s description of oysters, the boy begins to imagine what they look like. The father isn’t having any luck getting money from the passersby. Finally, the boy’s imagination and hunger get the best of him, and he starts shouting for oysters. Two men passing by are amazed that the boy eats oysters and take him to the restaurant, purchasing oysters for ten roubles. The boy eats them, including the shells. Later, when the boy wakes up in his bed, he has heartburn and a strange taste in his mouth. His father is still upset at his inability to ask for help and is still hungrily walking up and down, gesticulating.

[kavreb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkly hilarious little anecdotes, until you understand they're not funny at all - they're rather depressing instead.

Well, okay, the first few are indeed amusing, An Avenger especially, with a cheated husband looking to buy a gun from an amoral salesman and getting increasingly doubtful of the need to kill his wife and her lover. But Blunder I had already forgotten by the time of writing this (it's the shortest, and, reminding myself with the help of Google, the most like an anecdote), and Boys, about two boys thinking of running away to America because it sounds like fun, is a trifle and little more.

But then you get The Huntsman and The Lady with the Dog which are both about the sadness and loneliness of marrying the wrong person, though I'd argue the cheating characters in the Lady would probably be the wrong person for each other as well were they to have divorced and married each other, and the Huntsman is just unpleasant, saying little more.

In the meanwhile Misery and Oysters are perhaps the hardest-hitting stories of the collection, almost challenging to read in the levels of misery they can generate, the first one with the loneliness of its grieving lead (though the ending offers some hope) and the second with the poverty and starvation of its miserable leads, a jobless man and his eight years old son who doesn't even know what oysters are and will probably not survive the month.

Looking back, already the first stories of the collection cast a somewhat critical eye at society, but the selfishness and misery of the last two are something quite different. You can laugh at the idiot husband getting doubts about killing anybody, but it's difficult to laugh at the dying child who doesn't know what oysters are and is laughed at by others.

When the collection is at its weakest, I wonder what’s so special about Chekov, who I've read little before, but when it's at its best, my goodness, is this great writing.

And Stephen Fry certainly has nice pronunciation.

________
My ranking:
Oysters
Misery
An Avenger
The Lady with a Dog
Blunder
Boys
The Huntsman

[Jimgosailing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finishing my second set of Chekhov short stories (am still in process of finishing a third sets); surprisingly (?), little overlap among the stories (though I think the selection of stories read by Richard Armitrage resonated with me more). One overlap story was “Oysters”. And being from the Chesapeake Bay Area, found this story to be tongue in cheek comical. Loved that Chekhov described them with having “eyes” (ha! And being chewy). A great story for someone embarking on tasting oysters.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real treat to listen to Stephen Fry narrate these brief, incisive short stories by Chekhov. The pithy narration really underscores the pathos of the human condition that Chekhov captures so well. People are ridiculous and self-absorbed, and also sad. We all are, really. The best we can do is observe and listen, especially to ourselves. Sometimes that is hard, so good short stories help.

[Heather Pagano · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story in this collection knocked my socks off with one of the most attention-grabbing story openings I've ever read. Overall I enjoyed the selection and Fry's reading made it engaging and fun. There is no pause between the start of one story and the start of the next, which was needed both to signal and to give a second to absorb the change to a new story.

[Ricard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fry is always a complete joy to have as a narrator, the stories are about life, some more interesting than others as you could expect from some short peaks into well... life. There is among them a story titled "Misery" about a carriage driver which in it's short delivery has one of the most realistic depictions of grief I have heard or seen.

[Kim_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a classic, Anton Chekhov’s writing is not bad. Stephen Fry’s voice brings the stories to life and compliment the writing perfectly. My favourite of the stories was The Lady With The Dog which just happens to be the longest of the short stories. Average rating over all the stories was 3.5. I will be picking up more from Chekhov and Stephen Fry.

[Rodrigo Acuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Humor & tales from the past."

Humorous characterisations in well-developed vignettes of pre-revolutionary Russia. A glimpse of the every day and the absurd that still works on many levels.
A good collection that will satisfy.

[John Ham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging mix of pathos and humor, which is captured well by Stephen Fry's reading. Except for "The Lady with the Dog," these stories are rather brief vignettes through which Chekhov paints vivid pictures of his subjects. "Misery, "Oysters" and "An Avenger" were especially good.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, classic stories masterfully (unsurprisingly) read by Stephen Fry. "Misery," while achingly (unsurprisingly) sad was a stand out.

Only minor complaint about this audio book: each chapter (story) has no break between...one runs right into the other without the thought of a pause.

[Charlotte Müller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t think I like short stories, but I love Stephen Fry’s voice, so it was alright enough.
The stories were all so sad too, I don’t like reading sad stuff, I read to escape the sadness of reality.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice intro to Chekhov - I've never read him. I LOVE Stephen Fry as a narrator.

The only disconcerting thing was about the editing. There wasn't even a breath between the last word in one story and the beginning of the next - an editing mistake.

[Aditya Y. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are good, Stephen Fry's narration is amazing.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely freaking marvelous. Why was it so short?! Can we convince Mr. Fry to do the complete series?!

[Mark w · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this brief one while jogging around. Would recommend.

[Kuan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories where amusing and learned a bit about Russian culture. But most stories I didnt really got or wasnt funny. Stephen Fry is great, also loved him in Hitchhikers Guide

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, sweet, sad and often funny. My first exposure to Chekhov and it’s all of humanity in pearl jewel box.