Product Description

Anton Chekhov is regarded by many as the most outstanding short story writer. This may be a surprise at the first encounter with even his most famous stories, because they are rarely driven by plot or anticipation. They are often gentle in character, elusive in purpose; but they create a resonance in the imagination that rings long. Here are 12 stories, from the brightly comic to the overtly tragic, each full of the sharpest observations of personality and situation, and with implications beyond their brief form; the dying actor, the children playing a game, the cabman with his tragedy, the orator's mistake and, perhaps most richly of all, the family laid bare in 'In The Ravine'. With music by Tchaikovsky and Balakirev.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #349267 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09
• Released on: 2002-09-17
• Formats: Abridged, Audiobook, Box set
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 3
• Dimensions: .42 pounds
• Binding: Audio CD
• 3 pages

From AudioFile
The eleven short stories and one novella (IN THE RAVINE) in this collection are not as well known as the great plays on which Chekhov's reputation rests. Let's hope that this terrific audio version helps change that, as these stories are brilliant evocations of the class-dominated society that Russia has always been. Some are comic, some are sad--all are ultimately tragic. If you insist on Russian stories being read with a Russian accent, this audiobook is not for you, as all the accents are unambiguously British. But if you want an outstanding reading, in which the narrator's voice brilliantly conveys the speaker's class and the intricate relationships between characters during conversations, you can do no better than to listen to Kenneth Branagh. This great actor mesmerizes as he gasps, chuckles, stutters, and declaims. A must listen. R.E.K. 2003 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Classical music enhances a dramatic narrative performance
A very strongly recommended addition to school and community library collections, The Ravine & Other Short Stories presents an unabridged audio CD anthology of classic Anton Chekhov short stories, including Oh! The Public; The Chorus Girl; An Actor's End; The Trousseau; A Story Without A Title; Children; Misery; Fat And Thin; The Beggar; Hush!; and The Orator. Classical music enhances a dramatic narrative performance by film, television, and stage actor Kenneth Branagh who does full justice to these timeless works of literature. 3 CDS, approximately 3 hours and 35 minutes.

In the Ravine: And Other Short Stories
Eleven short stories and one novella (In the Ravine) by Anton Chekhov, as read by British actor Kenneth Branagh in 2002. The stories are:

The Trousseau (1883)
Fat and Thin (1883)
Oh! the Public! (1885)
Misery (1886)
An Actor's End (1886)
Children (1886)
The Chorus Girl (1886)
The Orator (1886)
Hush! (1886)
The Beggar (1887)
A Story Without a Title (1888)

Overall very good although it helps to read along with the text since some of the Russian vocabulary and names are difficult to track by audio alone. It is the Constance Garnett translation, freely available online. In the Ravine is the best, a wide and colorful portrait of peasant village life - a tragic story though. "Misery" is very good. "Children" does a good job at evoking childhood. "The Chorus Girl" is also well done. The CD says "Abridged" even though all the stories are Unabridged.