Mere Mortals Book Reviews

Mere Mortals Book Reviews


Does Great Insight Come From Suffering? | Great Stories By Chekov (Anton Chekov)

October 06, 2022

Maybe Russians are the most wise, but also the most depressed of us all.

'Great Stories By Chekov' by Anton Chekov (and translated by Constance Garnett) is an anthology of 7 tales, of which 4 are short stories and 3 are novellas. They all showcase Russian life in the 19th century and detail deprivation, abuse, harsh conditions and strained relationships. 

I summarised the book as follows. "It's a Russian author so you know there's going to be suffering and also some deep insights gained from this misery. It's very nice writing with deep yet playful scenery and characters. I personally preferred the longer stories and am not the biggest fan of collections so only wish that the novellas had been fleshed out into full length novels."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:40) - Synopsis
(3:24) - Misery: Why do Russians obsess over it?
(11:02) - Cognisance: What can be gained from experiencing misery?
(22:00) - Observations/Takeaways
(30:54) - Summary

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