Anton Chekhov Short Story Collection: In A Strange Land and Other Stories, (2CD SET): 1 [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Ken Petersen (UK)

This was an enjoyable experience for me. Its not often that I listen to audiobooks. The readers lightly accented voice wasn't too fast, too slow or too annoying (which can happen with audiobooks and ruins them.) The little vignettes themselves were great. My favourite was the one about the 'little foot.' Hilarious.

Renee (MI, USA)

I really do enjoy Chekhov, and it was very pleasant to walk to and from work listening to these stories. I thought the narrator did a decent job turning the prose into something enjoyable to the ear, and Chekhov, as always, writes great stuff.

Jennie Blake (UK)

I listened to these short stories in the car while driving to and from errands and to work. At the conclusion of each short story, I was anxious to start the next, but also felt compelled to think about the one I had just completed - and then to contemplate my own past, my own choices, my own story. I love when literature sticks with me like this audio recording did. I am looking forward to listening to it again very soon.

Meg Downing (MA, USA) --anton-chekhov.com

A lovely listen, rich, velvety Russian voice, never obtrusive. Well-paced reading, nicely interspersed with Tchaikovsky for atmosphere. A good addition to reading the plays or stories. I will recommend it to my pupils who are studying The Cherry Orchard. Liz O Sullivan (France)

This was my first experience with an audio book, at least for many years. I found the stories themselves captivating and now wish to read them in "regular" form. And only 5 stories is just a sample of Anton Chekhov's works. But I would listen to another collection of his stories again. His stories are about people, with real problems. There are no trite solutions for their problems, sometimes just an understanding of the characters' flaws. Each story offers a portrait of a person, a situation, and through simple dialogue we learn more about them than they know themselves. It is a wonderful experience to hear these stories. Joseph Belliveau (Canada)

I really enjoyed this collection of subtly funny vignettes from the life of 19th century small town Russia. There was something odd that I didn't remember about Chekhov's stories at all, but which caught my attention this time - their climax was as subtle as their wit, and seemed to take place way before the end, or not at all. Karim Mamdani (Toronto, Canada)

This was an enjoyable experience for me. Its not often that I listen to audiobooks. The readers lightly accented voice wasn't too fast, too slow or too annoying (which can happen with audiobooks and ruins them.) The little vignettes themselves were great. My favorite was the one about the 'little foot'. Hilarious. Renee (MI, USA) --anton-chekhov.com

The tracks are superbly interspersed with snatches of music by Tchaikovsky, which set the mood perfectly. It would be exceedingly simple to overdo the 'Russian-ness' of this disc but, the editor has judged the mood perfectly. I have now listened to it a few times and will certainly do so again (hopefully, many times). Enough about the style of the disc, what about the content? My youth coincided with the cold war and so, Russia has always seemed to be a mysterious place where the people are somehow different. These tales of nineteenth century Russia should therefore be totally alien. They are not, of course: Chekhov describes the human condition, it is inherently the same in Russia as in England, or where, and when, ever one happens to live. I suspect that if we do, eventually, find sentient life upon another planet, then they too would read, or listen to, these fables and nod their understanding. --Ken Petersen (UK)

The selection of stories in this book represents Chekhov's early work which perhaps is not as well known as some of his plays. The stories nevertheless possess unique potency and relevance to our modern lives just as they did back in 19th century Russia when they first appeared in various Russian publications.

Chekhov himself described his work as comic satire: "All I wanted was to say honestly to people: 'Have a look at yourselves and see how bad and dreary your lives are!' The important thing is that people should realize that, for when they do, they will most certainly create another and better life for themselves. I will not live to see it, but I know that it will be quite different, quite unlike our present life."

Chekhov was often criticized by prominent literary reviewers of the time for not providing readers with an answer or ideas how these dreary lives can be improved. Of course Chekhov is not giving a direct instruction or providing readers with a manual on how to live a life, but it is possible to find solutions in his stories ? they appear between the lines for each reader. Resolutions are different for each person and only each individual soul can find the right and most appropriate way in their life. Chekhov s own response to this is well documented. He often insisted that the job of an artist was not to answer questions, it was to ask them.

Vol. 1 Contents

01 A Tragic Actor
02 In A Strange Land
03 Oh! The Public
04 The Looking Glass
05 Her Husband
06 Overdoing It

Vol. 2 Contents

01 Talent
02 Anyuta
03 The Helpmate
04 Ivan Matveyitch
05 Polinka

About The Composer

Pyotr Ilyich Chaikovskiy 1840 1893, a Russian composer of the Romantic era. Chaikovskiy achieved worldwide recognition during his lifetime, was awarded an honorary doctorate at Cambridge University. In 1891 the Carnegie Hall program booklet proclaimed him to be one of the greatest living musicians. Music critics praised him as a modern music lord . In Russia Chaikovskiy was considered a national treasure, and his music admired and adored by all. He wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his Piano Concertos, his Symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin.