Russian Classics: The Helpmate and Other Stories [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Deeply intense story of Mumu, the dog and deaf mute Gerasim, whom one might suppose a serf transplanted from a country estate near Moscow where "he did the work of four men" to duties as courtyard porter of the Moscow's house of a recluse elderly female landowner, whom one might suppose a member of the Aristocracy. All is intimist and social critic tschekovian in tone, never overt. Gerasim is Russia, lost in a city in his peasant blouse among the "German coats" worn by domesticity and visitors to the town house.

With great empathy for the human condition and his characters, Turgenev depicts a courtyard kept meticulously clean of weeds, dust and drunkards by Gerasim. After loosing a potential wife to a shoemaker through a marriage of convenience arranged by the landowner, Gerasim reports all his affection on his dog Mumu.

When Mumu rejects the unwanted attention of the insomniac and paranoiac old lady secluded in her second floor apartments, disaster strikes prompting Gerasim's return to his village and the eternal values of mother Russia, its land and its people. This audio book is beautifully presented. The narrator convincing and sincere in conveying the gentleness of Gerasim and yet his inalterable strenghth opposed to the cruelty and stupidity of the other members of the household. A short story but great in emotion and meaning that makes you want to read his other books. What a successful introduction to a great writer.

Philippe Felsenhardt (USA)

These unabridged stories in the faithful Constance Garnett translation are presented with fine flourish by the Russian-born narrator. The poignant, everyday dramas of Imperial Russia are here, from jolting carriages across boundless taiga, to a tragic actor and a French tutor insulted by his boastful employer.

Rachel Redford, The Observer, The Guardian (UK)

This is an audio book, and the narrator has a light Russian accent that lends creditability to the stories. Each of the stories is a picture for me. In fact, I liken each of them to a Monet painting in which you can see the individual strokes of the brush if you stand too close, but stepping back you see the whole picture at once and not the bits that created the whole. Masterpieces!

Frayda Glass (MA, USA)

All the faults concerning my interaction with this work, are mine. I have trained myself to sit and read a book: it is an activity which absorbs one's main sensory organs, the eyes; and so, the World is closed out. With an audio book, such as this, one needs to block out all extraneous input and drink in the delightful atmosphere as the stories are beautifully read to one.

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) --Anton-Chekhov.com

Listening to Chekhov short stories told in a Russian accented voice. What a pleasant way to spend an hour. Anton Chekhov does so well at condensing time and space into just a few words. Most writers of his time, and of today, would need a novel to tell what he can put into not very many pages. I'm not usually an audio book user, but did enjoy this one. The subtle sound effects and the Russian-sounding narrator added to the listening.

Michael Schwager (Southern Idaho, USA)

Short Stories by Anton Checkov is an audio book containing five of Checkov s stories. They are delightfully narrated by Max Bollinger in his charming accented English. The stories are excellent examples of Checkov s style. Superb characterisation and brilliantly observed slices of life. Checkov s stories don t come to an end they just peter out inconclusively leaving you to draw your own conclusions. A very enjoyable collection.

Alan Moreton (Essex, UK)

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

CD1 Anton Chekhov

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

CD2 Anton Chekhov

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

'The poignant, everyday dramas of Imperial Russia are here' Rachel Redford (UK)

'This collection has that wonderful mix of humour and poignancy' Maki Vounoridis (Australia)

'Each of the stories is a picture for me. I liken each of them to a Monet painting' Frayda Glass (USA)

CD3 Ivan Turgenev
Mumu

Adaptation of Turgenev's story set on the outskirts of Moscow, in the house of an old widow. The story was written in 1854 by Ivan Turgenev, a great Russian novelists of the nineteenth century.

'A brilliant story superbly narrated Alan Moreton (UK)

'This edition has whet my appetite for Turgenev Joseph Belliveau (Canada)

'An absolute classic Nikki Pierce (UK)