Anton Chekhov is considered by many as one of the greatest short story writers of all-time. In addition to the large number of short stories that he wrote he also produced several dramatic masterpieces. His best known works include "The Cherry Orchard", "Ivanov", "Uncle Vanya", and "Three Sisters". Those plays along with "The Sea-Gull", "The Swan Song", "On the High Road", "The Proposal", "The Wedding", "The Bear", "A Tragedian in Spite of Himself",...

Anton Chekhov is universally regarded as an all-time master of the short story form. Nowhere is this better displayed than within "The Little Trilogy," three interconnected short stories about love. The stories are "The Man in a Case," "Gooseberries," and "About Love." Referred to as literary intertextuality, these stories contain recurring characters, settings, and themes. Frank Marcopolos is an audiobook narrator whose voice-work has garnered praise...

Three men; Mihailo, the porter, Nikandr, the fish merchant; and Stepan the coachman, sit around a table in the coach-house playing a game of "kings" with Stepan's eight-year old grandson, Alyoshka. While each card player competitively tries to win the coveted position of "king" in the game, a more serious atmosphere casts a sad shadow over the estate in which the coach-house is situated. The man of the house, for whom the porter and coachman work,...

A young peasant finds himself confronting a doctor at a hospital with the hopes of convincing him to release his brother. The doctor is not pleased and refuses to release him saying the peasant needs to go to the authorities. He is disappointed by his statement and unsure of where to go. On his way out, he comes to meet an old man just outside the hospital gate. He reveals his problem to him and the old man directs him exactly where he needs to head....

Three friends, Mayer (a medical student), Rybnikov (a student of the arts), and Cassilyev (a law student), decide to go out one night to get some girls. Mayer and Rybnikov had to spend some time convincing Cassilyev to come along, as he was far more fastidious and cautious than his friends. Cassilyev himself is envious of his friends, who live their lives in a much more carefree fashion. The three friends visit several different houses containing...

Vel Vassilyevitch finds himself meeting with an unwanted visitor one day after lunch, an odd woman beseeching him to give him just a half hour of his time. Madam Murashkin wants Pavel to critique a play that she has written before she sets off on a voyage, and insists it will take only a half hour of his time. Unable to deny her relentless pitiful pleas, Pavel gives in and Madam Murashkin launches into her play - which turns out to take much longer...

Semyon and a young man, along with three other ferrymen, live out their days on a desolate riverbank in Siberia, after being exiled from their countries for various crimes. Their environment is freezing cold and barren, providing nothing about which to be happy. However, Semyon seems content with his life, arguing that if he wants nothing he will never be disappointed. The young man, on the other hand, is miserable and hopes that his wife and mother...

A Russian author, playwright, and physician, Anton Chekhov is widely considered one of the best short-story writers of all time. Having influenced such writers as Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Carver, and James Joyce, Chekhov's stories are often noted for their stream-of-consciousness style and their vast number. Raymond Carver once said, “It is not only the immense number of stories he wrote—for few, if any, writers have ever done more—it is the...

A young aspiring male student finds him self in a difficult situation. While working on his dissertation he is interrupted by a young women, asking him to walk her home. He decides it is best and complies with her request. It is later decided the two should marry but it is against the young man's wishes. A great idea comes to the man regarding their marriage, but it is a little too late.

As Maxim and Lizaveta, a young married couple, drive home from church on Easter, Maxim finds the joy and beauty in everything. As the newly married couple drives home on their first Easter together, carrying a blessed Easter cake, they see a Cossack at the side of the road. They soon learn that he is sick and too weak to make it home, and he asks for some food if they have any. Maxim immediately wants to share the Easter cake with him, however, his...