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Stephen Fry Presents a Selection of Anton Chekhov's Short Stories
Anton Chekhov
- Unabridged
Narrator: Stephen Fry
Length: 1 hour and 48 min.
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"Chekhov is probably better known in Britain for his plays than for his prose. For many, however, it is his short stories that mark the high water of his genius. It might at first glance be hard for those not used to his style of narrative to see what the fuss is about - and fuss there is: for most authors and lovers of literature Chekhov is incomparably the greatest short story writer there ever was. These tales appear to be about nothing. Some seem shockingly short and disarmingly inconsequential. They often fail to provide that sting in the tail or punch in the gut that we associate with the kind of popular Roald Dahl, Somerset Maugham story. But if you let character, observation and language do their work in your mind - hope you will agree with me that no writer captured, mood, moral entanglement, familial love and the pains and joys of humanity quite as well and with quite so much painterly detail, sympathy and fellow-feeling as Anton Chekhov." written by Stephen Fry.
©2008 SamFry Limited; (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers
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Most Helpful Customer Review
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Virtuoso
21/01/2010
Anton Chekhov's short stories are more numerous than his plays but harder to appreciate: as plays they are economical with means - no fireworks of plot here - but the absence of actors means there is little emotion to balance the close minute observations of the world. Here, Stephen Fry offers magnificient show, that almost elevates the stories to the emotional level of playacting on stage, though he seems never to go over the top; it is a cearfully studied and controlled performance with a feel of great spontanity at the same time.
