{"id":8678,"date":"2022-04-29T20:38:14","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T18:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/?p=8678"},"modified":"2022-05-18T22:22:47","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T20:22:47","slug":"fruehlingsgefuehle-anton-cechov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/2022\/04\/fruehlingsgefuehle-anton-cechov\/","title":{"rendered":"Fr\u00fchlingsgef\u00fchle \u2022 Anton \u010cechov"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

This collection of Stories of Love<\/em>, as the subtitle of the book reads, I stumbled upon by chance among the new releases. After reading Russian Love Stories<\/a> earlier this year\u2014which was such a pleasure\u2014I simply had to have this book. I\u2019ve read many collections of short stories, and there\u2019s something wonderful about discovering one tale after another, letting yourself drift through such a book. Especially when the stories are imaginative and come with the occasional punchline. I was very curious to see what Chekhov had to offer here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The book contains 22 stories, all related to the theme of love and the relationship between men and women, as the subtitle suggests. Their lengths vary\u2014some span only a few pages, while others, such as The Black Monk<\/em>, extend up to 50 pages. The subject matter also varies, but all share a similar tone. I found them light, often tinged with irony and humor, and they frequently depict very typical situations. The stories are entertaining; a few have a punchline, but most are rather straightforward. The variety is what makes them appealing\u2014there are many humorous moments, such as when someone completely bungles a marriage proposal or visits a matchmaker, and the whole scene takes an unexpected turn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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I found The Ward<\/em> particularly well done\u2014a scene that perfectly captures a typical human reaction from beginning to end. More serious but also excellent was On the Cart<\/em>, where Chekhov offers a glimpse into provincial culture\u2014not as vivid and detailed as Gogol\u2019s depictions, but emotionally very precise. All\u2019s Well<\/em> also has a lovely twist and plays cleverly with the clich\u00e9s of the time. I also thought Zelenaya Kosa<\/em> was quite successful\u2014told in a light tone and simply a beautiful, classic love story. However, there were a few tales that I liked less or that didn\u2019t quite make sense to me\u2014The Black Monk<\/em>, for instance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Overall, I found the stories very entertaining, and while reading, the plot almost always piqued my curiosity\u2014I wanted to know how things would turn out. Most often there are no real surprises, and only a small portion of the stories have an actual punchline. Frequently, the reader is presented with a realistic look at the dynamics between men and women, and the theme of breaking out of socially prescribed norms recurs (as in The Bride<\/em> or The Literature Teacher<\/em>). All in all, it\u2019s a great book to dip into here and there\u2014perfect for some light reading on a beach vacation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Among the well-known Russian authors of the 19th century, I\u2019ve read quite a few books, and Chekhov has always been among them\u2014most recently in Russian Love Stories<\/a> with A Misfortune<\/em>, as well as his master novellas published by Manesse. Chekhov lived from 1860 to 1904 and was best known as a playwright\u2014The Cherry Orchard<\/em>, for example, is one of his most famous works, and it\u2019s still on my reading list. All the stories collected here by Christine Stemmermann were written between 1880 and 1899.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The translation by Peter Urban and Beate Rausch was fine, though not outstanding. You occasionally stumble over odd word choices\u2014for example, when a young man calls his newlywed wife \u201clittle mother,\u201d or when a suitor addresses a guardian as \u201cYour Excellency.\u201d There are also no annotations or afterword, which would have been welcome in a few places. This is where you can feel the difference compared to newer, more carefully annotated (and more expensive) editions. Still, it\u2019s not a dealbreaker\u2014the book is very pleasant to read.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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At first glance, the design looks simple, with the typical white cover of Diogenes editions. In fact, though, the production quality is excellent\u2014the dust jacket is made of pleasantly thick, high-quality paper. The book itself is bound in light-colored linen, which I really liked, complete with a handsome spine label and the classic red ribbon marker. The only thing missing is thread stitching\u2014then it would be perfect. From a bibliophile perspective, you get a very solidly made book here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Conclusion:<\/strong> Chekhov\u2019s Love Stories<\/em> is a light, entertaining read that gave me many pleasant hours. Several of the stories I found particularly enjoyable; they offer an accessible and insightful look into relationships between men and women in late 19th-century Russian society. The sometimes humorous yet always unvarnished view of people makes for an easy, flowing reading experience that keeps you curious about each ending. While I found the translation a bit uneven in places, the design and craftsmanship of the book are excellent. For anyone looking for relaxed vacation reading, this is a perfect choice\u2014a book that may not be a masterpiece, but is certainly very readable and engaging.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Book information:<\/strong> Fr\u00fchlingsgef\u00fchle<\/em> \u2022 Anton Chekhov \u2022 Diogenes Verlag \u2022 272 pages \u2022 ISBN 9783257071825<\/p>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This collection of Stories of Love, as the subtitle of the book reads, I stumbled upon by chance among the new releases. After reading Russian Love Stories earlier this year\u2014which was such a pleasure\u2014I simply had to have this book. I\u2019ve read many collections of short stories, and there\u2019s something wonderful about discovering one tale … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Fr\u00fchlingsgef\u00fchle \u2022 Anton \u010cechov”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Fr\u00fchlingsgef\u00fchle \u2022 Anton \u010cechov - lesestunden","description":"Diese Sammlung von Geschichten von der Liebe , wie der Untertitel des Buches lautet, habe ich zuf\u00e4llig zwischen den Neuerscheinungen gefunden. Nachdem die Lekt\u00fc"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classics","category-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/fruehlingsgefuehle_1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}