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Celebrity Chekhov: Stories by Anton Chekhov
New Yorker editor and McSweeney's contributor Ben Greenman reshapes Russian literature's most celebrated stories around America's most popular pop culture icons, probing the deep complexities of Anton Chekov (not to mention those of Cruise or Kardashian). Thought-provoking and funny, these wryly re-imagined tales will be sure-fire favorites for every kind of reader, whether your favorite escapes are celebrity memoirs like L.A. Candy and The Truth about Diamonds, re-conceived classics like Wicked, literary parodies like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, or masterpieces of fiction from authors like Tolstoy, Pushkin and Chekhov himself.
205 pages, Paperback
First published September 18, 2010
3 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Ben Greenman
52 books72 followersBen Greenman is an editor at The New Yorker whose short fiction, journalism, and essays have appeared there, The New York Times, McSweeneys, The Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All Story. He is the author of several acclaimed books of fiction, including Superbad, Superworse, A Circle is a Balloon and Compass Both, Correspondences, and the novel Please Step Back. HIs new book of stories What He's Poised To Do: Stories was published in June of 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
April 26, 2021
This book here, Celebrity Chekhov: Stories by Anton Chekhov must ruffle the feathers of some Chekhov purists much the way the Flaming Lips' whole-album remake of Dark Side of the Moon (with guest appearances by Henry Rollins! And Peaches!) must wrinkle the forehead of even the most forgiving fans of Pink Floyd: "Well, erm. It does have a sort of Syd Barrett's ghost-in-the-studio vibe, yeah?"
But've never read Chekhov. Maybe this will be the gateway. The way through. Sometimes a decent cover -- or a goodheartedly goofy spin -- is enough to send you back out there to experience the original. Great White's version of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", for example, and R.E.M.'s Velvet Underground b-sides, for an even stronger example.
...
But've never read Chekhov. Maybe this will be the gateway. The way through. Sometimes a decent cover -- or a goodheartedly goofy spin -- is enough to send you back out there to experience the original. Great White's version of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", for example, and R.E.M.'s Velvet Underground b-sides, for an even stronger example.
...
November 1, 2020
This is a collection of Chekov short stories brought into the present by using celebrity names and other details. Well, the present back in 2010, so it helps to remember 2010 for some of these. Some of these produce really funny ones (eg Joy starring the Khardashians, A Transgression, featuring David Letterman), although my favourite was "An Enigmatic Nature" featuring Oprah. However, some fell flat for me, in part because I just couldn't wrap my head around a Nicole Kidman with "plumb shoulders" or growing stout, but for a few other reasons (another being that I am not a fan of her ex husband's acting), plus some of them are just dark, heavy Russian short stories that are still dark, heavy and now really strange. The one strange story that I did find amusing was the one with Billy Ray Cyrus, and I won't give you the name of the short story because to me that is a bit of a spoiler, but let's just say that it was a good choice.
July 7, 2024
I quite enjoyed these! Thank you, public domain.
October 28, 2020
What a fun book. The author takes a collection of Chekhov stories and replaces all the characters with modern celebrities. The results are sometimes funny, but overall make the story just a little more relatable.
I listened to the audio and overall a fun listen.
I listened to the audio and overall a fun listen.
November 30, 2012
http://wineandabook.com/2012/03/31/re...
The circumstances surrounding my reading of Greenman's Celebrity Chekhov were, fittingly, Chekhovian. In March, I was seeing someone who is a fairly substantial Chekhov enthusiast. He had taken me to see Chekhovek! (which we decided must be Russian for "bad acting"), a staging of a series of Anton Chekhov's short stories, which piqued my interest in Greenman's "celebritization." (More on my life's Chekhovian plot twist post-rubric-rating.) Thankfully, Greenman has a far deeper understanding of Chekhov than the men of Chekhovek!...
Greenman's premise is simple: he believes that Chekhov's understanding of human nature and error is timeless. In his introduction he says:
"Chekhov drew his characters from all levels of Russian society in his time: peasants, aristocrats, intense young clerks, disappointed wives. Today, in America, we have a simple way of identifying these flawed specimens of humanity ruled by ego and insecurity. They are called 'celebrities.'"
My personal favorite story: Greenman's retelling of "The Death of a Government Clerk" entitled "The Death of a Redheaded Man," where he recasts the government clerk as Conan O'Brien and the general in the Department of Transport as Larry King. Super insightful and pitch perfect recasting.
Rubric rating: 8. I am a New Yorker junkie, so I figured I'd love this collection. Really want to move his collection "What He's Poised To Do" up in my insanely long "to read" list.
And how were my circumstances Chekhovian, you ask? Chekhov's characters tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves and are usually either pining over someone they can't have (Chekhov is HUGE on unrequited love) or battling distinct dissatisfaction with their lives and circumstances. In my case, the gentleman I was seeing, whom I had developed pretty strong feelings for, has recently discovered he does not feel the same about me and ended our affair. After dealing with the sadness, more bitter than sweet, I've been in a pretty intense state of ennui. I would laugh at how life has imitated art...if I wasn't so weary...maybe I should work?
The circumstances surrounding my reading of Greenman's Celebrity Chekhov were, fittingly, Chekhovian. In March, I was seeing someone who is a fairly substantial Chekhov enthusiast. He had taken me to see Chekhovek! (which we decided must be Russian for "bad acting"), a staging of a series of Anton Chekhov's short stories, which piqued my interest in Greenman's "celebritization." (More on my life's Chekhovian plot twist post-rubric-rating.) Thankfully, Greenman has a far deeper understanding of Chekhov than the men of Chekhovek!...
Greenman's premise is simple: he believes that Chekhov's understanding of human nature and error is timeless. In his introduction he says:
"Chekhov drew his characters from all levels of Russian society in his time: peasants, aristocrats, intense young clerks, disappointed wives. Today, in America, we have a simple way of identifying these flawed specimens of humanity ruled by ego and insecurity. They are called 'celebrities.'"
My personal favorite story: Greenman's retelling of "The Death of a Government Clerk" entitled "The Death of a Redheaded Man," where he recasts the government clerk as Conan O'Brien and the general in the Department of Transport as Larry King. Super insightful and pitch perfect recasting.
Rubric rating: 8. I am a New Yorker junkie, so I figured I'd love this collection. Really want to move his collection "What He's Poised To Do" up in my insanely long "to read" list.
And how were my circumstances Chekhovian, you ask? Chekhov's characters tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves and are usually either pining over someone they can't have (Chekhov is HUGE on unrequited love) or battling distinct dissatisfaction with their lives and circumstances. In my case, the gentleman I was seeing, whom I had developed pretty strong feelings for, has recently discovered he does not feel the same about me and ended our affair. After dealing with the sadness, more bitter than sweet, I've been in a pretty intense state of ennui. I would laugh at how life has imitated art...if I wasn't so weary...maybe I should work?
November 9, 2010
For a book based entirely on a gimmick, Ben Greenman did a decent job of entertaining me. I don’t usually buy into these kind of books (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies & Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, anyone?), but I was looking for something quick and fun to read as I took a break from The Instructions. Having read a lot of Chekhov’s short stories, I was interested to see how he would mesh the “celebrity” into Chekhov’s writing. Some of the stories I thought worked really well, like Tall and Short (featuring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie), A Transgression (David Letterman and his infidelity), with my two favorites being A Classical Student (Lindsay Lohan getting beaten? Sign me up!) and Death of a Red-headed Man. The rest of the stories were either just ok or downright bad and felt like Greenman just copied and pasted random famous peoples’ names into the tale. But overall, if you’re looking for a quick, mostly funny read, check this book out (from the library). Then get yourself a thick book of Chekhov’s short stories and watch the real master at work.
January 20, 2011
What a clever book this is! Ben Greenman has taken Chekhov's short stories and replaced the characters with todays "celebrities". David Letterman to Tiger Woods, Paris Hilton to Nichole Kidman, this book is such a witty reinvention of the classic with very interesting results.
By using popular culture figures, the stories seem to take on a fresh, new meaning. When I started this book, I did not see how it could work, but I quickly fell under its spell.
A found baby, a happy marriage, an insecure movie star, a father and daughter all emerge in wonderful stories with a new perspective.
I really enjoyed this book. I was not sure I would like this one, but boy, did I ever! It was like finding a pony in a pile! (an old family saying)
I received this book from Harper Perennial for review. Thank you so much!!
By using popular culture figures, the stories seem to take on a fresh, new meaning. When I started this book, I did not see how it could work, but I quickly fell under its spell.
A found baby, a happy marriage, an insecure movie star, a father and daughter all emerge in wonderful stories with a new perspective.
I really enjoyed this book. I was not sure I would like this one, but boy, did I ever! It was like finding a pony in a pile! (an old family saying)
I received this book from Harper Perennial for review. Thank you so much!!
November 2, 2010
What I Can Tell You:
I read this book last night in about 2 hours. It was so fun and witty. Until today, I had no idea who Chekhov was. My Russian girlfriend told me that he was Anton Chekhov one of the greatest short story writers in the world! While I am not big on short stories, because of the celebrity name dropping I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lindsay Lohan, Stephen Colbert, Eminem, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Letterman, Tiger, etc grace these stories and now I am interested in hearing more about Anton Chekhov. If nothing else, that is what this book will do; introduce people to a Anton Chekhov.
I thought it was a really fun read and a great way to waste away precious hours.
I read this book last night in about 2 hours. It was so fun and witty. Until today, I had no idea who Chekhov was. My Russian girlfriend told me that he was Anton Chekhov one of the greatest short story writers in the world! While I am not big on short stories, because of the celebrity name dropping I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lindsay Lohan, Stephen Colbert, Eminem, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Letterman, Tiger, etc grace these stories and now I am interested in hearing more about Anton Chekhov. If nothing else, that is what this book will do; introduce people to a Anton Chekhov.
I thought it was a really fun read and a great way to waste away precious hours.
Read
August 18, 2011I have up to now never read a Chekhov play/story although like most people I have seen "The Seagull" & "Uncle Vanya" in fact I did not know that Chekhov wrote short stories. Picked up this book at the library (so as to laugh-I didn't want to read anything too deep) & laugh I did since it is funny to imagine Kim Kardashian & Britney & other major celebs in these all too human dramas-these moral dilemmas "how can that be?" the tabloids never discuss them in such a way. But really the stories are deep they ask questions I think that is to be credited to Chekhov though-not Ben Greenman who I have never heard of.
April 13, 2011
having never read any chekhov stories, this was a really interesting book to read. i had been hoping for a bit more snark and celeb gossip, because that's just what kind of jerk i am, but what i got was well-written stories which actually seemed to find a good fit between modern celebrities and their public personas and the original works of chekhov. (to the extent that in most cases, sense of time and place were somewhat blurred, which is pretty cool) so better luck next time on the bitchiness, i guess. ;)
February 2, 2012
What a travesty. Normally I would tell the writer not to quit his day job, but in this case I should advise his day job to let him go, for The New Yorker could surely find staffers with a better appreciation for literature than this cheap basterdization shows. I'd love to give Greenman the benefit of the doubt, that he "wrote" this for shits and giggles and was enticed by a bigger fool to publish it, protesting that he hadn't put any thought into it all - "you can't be serious, only an idiot would find this trashing of a great writer charming!" Indeed Ben Greenman, indeed.
April 21, 2012
What if Chekhov’s witty, insightful short stories of human society were re-written with celebrities in them? Imagine a twitchy Conan O’Brien frantically agonizing because he sneezed on Larry King or a Michael Douglas scared of everything, even his relationship with his lovely young wife Catherine Zeta-Jones or a bitter Artie Lange railing against the dead Andy Kaufman for inadvertently shuttling him into a wretched life of comedy. Amusing and wry, these collections show that celebrities are just like everybody else, only more so.
September 13, 2014
Like most story collections I've read, this one started strong and finished with a whimper. (I admit, though, that the only one to make me laugh out loud was the Conan O'Brien story, which was near the end.) I'm not sure if the stories were progressively less interesting, or if the shtick just wore thin after a while.
One final thought: I was horrified by the Lindsay Lohan story, where her mother consents to Lindsay being sexually abused as "punishment" for failing to get a role. Totally out of left field. The other stories, even when they were dark, felt good-natured. That one wasn't.
One final thought: I was horrified by the Lindsay Lohan story, where her mother consents to Lindsay being sexually abused as "punishment" for failing to get a role. Totally out of left field. The other stories, even when they were dark, felt good-natured. That one wasn't.
June 25, 2011
Hated it. Why did I even think this was a good idea in the first place? Chekhov is my favorite writer (I lament not being born when he was alive) and I am
saddened by how his stories were butchered. I dislike most of the celebrities and feel that they added nothing; dumbed things down, in fact. Chekhov's stories are perfect already! I am so sad for the time wasted reading the first two stories....
saddened by how his stories were butchered. I dislike most of the celebrities and feel that they added nothing; dumbed things down, in fact. Chekhov's stories are perfect already! I am so sad for the time wasted reading the first two stories....
August 21, 2011
I've never actually read any of Chekhov's works, so I have no real foundation to compare this to in relation to the real stories. That said, some of the stories, like the David Letterman one were great. Others felt awkward, like the author merely inserted a few famous names for the sake of it.
That said, anyone who has a raging Perez Hilton addiction and a penchant for devouring celebrity gossip should find this book amusing.
That said, anyone who has a raging Perez Hilton addiction and a penchant for devouring celebrity gossip should find this book amusing.
October 18, 2011
It didn't really do it for me. I get it that by replacing the character's name with the name of a modern celebrity, you shortcut the process of character development because we "know" the celebrity or at least the characteristics and quirks the celebrity is usually known for. And you get the mash up of layering the modern on the historic. But this just started to feel forced and awkward very quickly.
March 31, 2011
Though the resemblance to Chekhov is slight, the book is an amusing diversion. I particularly enjoyed "The Darling", starring Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Keith Urban, and Brad Pitt (with cameos by Angelina and the kids). But the best result of picking it up at the library was that it led me back to the real thing.
December 24, 2011
As a former Russian lit major, I found this hilarious. Not sure what Chekhov would say- Tolstoy would roll over in his grave if anyone did this to his work, but then he always was rather uptight about those things. I am now hunting down copies of the original Chekhov stories to see how they compare to the celebritized versions. Really witty.
July 1, 2011
Chekhov's stories are updated and cast with modern-day celebrities. Cleverly done, but the fun of it wore off for me about half way through. I don't think I would particularly like Chekhov's stories without the celebrities.
Blue Bookcase review coming in a couple of weeks.
Blue Bookcase review coming in a couple of weeks.
September 9, 2011
The celebrity names used in these stories are as easily forgotten as the Russian ones: the stories stay with you. I found trying to recall who were the celebrities in one story or another and in some which weren't included in the book.
did-not-finish
May 24, 2013I feel sad DNF'ing this, but I just haven't read any Chekhov so I'm having trouble appreciating the stories. If this were "Celebrity Austen" we'd be in business.
Definitely one to look into after I've read some Chekhov.
Definitely one to look into after I've read some Chekhov.
October 15, 2012
Just couldn't do it. Maybe I am a dumb ass and didn't get it, but I read about 30 pages and hat to put it down.
If you are a great writer, please, write something that is not as shallow as celebrity crap.
If you are a great writer, please, write something that is not as shallow as celebrity crap.
Want to read
October 10, 2010Chekhov short stories redone with modern-day celebrities standing in as the characters! Ooo, I can't wait to read this!
November 16, 2010
This was an easy book to read by the pool because they are short stories. However, some of the stories did not make sense to me because I have not read any of Chekhov's stories.
December 15, 2010
My review is at http://cineastesbookshelf.blogspot.com
March 20, 2011
I posted a full review here: http://nicoleinanutshell.blogspot.com...
June 16, 2011
Meh. Maybe I should have read the back cover first.
February 25, 2012
Imagine a modern day celebrity plunked down into a fabulous short story by Chekhov...making it real for our modern NON-reading audiences....great idea, nicely done!
Wish I'd thought of it....
Wish I'd thought of it....
December 24, 2010
SIX WORD REVIEW: Chekhov mixed with celebrities changes things...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews