This is Why Chekhov was a Genius

We need more authors like Chekhov for today's life. We have the billionaires who think they have the answers for governing the world just because they have a talent for making and manipulating money, and then there are others who consider themselves victims, people unable to escape from their cases.

I’d like to emphasise that in Russia Chekov is known for his mastery of sarcasm and satire first and foremost. That’s why he is never hard to read unlike some other famous Russian writers. His tongue is cheeky and his stories are bittersweet.

Chekhov is my favorite writer. The three short stories ,which left inedible mark on my mind are Chekhov's 'Lady with the Dog' and other short stories and Gogol's Government Inspector and Maupassant's 'Necklace'.

“Ward No.6” is the most talked about and quoted story in Russia by many generations. If someone wants to criticise someone’s way of life or the path of their ideas they say “Are you from the ward number 6?”

This is my favorite video of yours so far. Chekhov had a huge influence on me through the years. I'm an avid gardener and didn't know about Chekhovs gardening. The point you make about that is very good. Chekhov was a hard worker but he seemed to know what gives most pleasure in life, at least on the serotonin way over the dopamine way. It's very rare to fins a work that is truly chekhovian. Most people focus on the psychology and the sociology. For me it was always the naturalist details he had. The wind in the trees. These sorts of details can give one peace with life, even after suffering. Like the end of Uncle Vanya. Like so so so many of his short stories. You've done a very good job with this video. Chekhov really comes through.

I grew up with Anton Chekhov's work translated into my native tongue. To this day I love the stories of Uncle Wanja, the Seagull, the Cherry Orchard and the Three Sisters (and other stories)

I am so happy to have found your channel! Thank you so much for all your content and as a Russian, special thank you for covering Russian literature, Chekhov is my favourite, although the does bring a bitter sweet depression on me every single time 😅🎉❤

Wonderful! As a lover of literature (a retired English language teacher) this was necter to my ears.

Thank you so much. Chekov is one of my favorites. Both the short stories and plays, I read again and again. I’ve probably seen seagull in the theater five times.

Fiction Beast, I love all your lectures on writers. (All!!) You always capture the essence of them. I love Russian writers. Anton Chekhov, of course he is one of the finest writers' of short stories and plays. The explanation why he was different was perfectly put by your analysis. He saw what was in every day mundane life as lived by the serfs. Captured its realness and what was hidden as in all human beings. My favorite early short story by Chekhov is "The Kiss," which is in the presence of Chekhov, which is to be simpler, more truthful. He always prevails in his short stories. "The Lady with a Dog," a later one in 1899. All of his plays are brimming with subtlety of existence. Again, thank you for all your lectures and a very happy 2023. Respectfully and with affection. 💖

In addition to the authors you mentioned, Tennessee Williams really admired Anton Chekhov, and even wrote an adaptation of The Seagull which he entitled, "The Notebook of Trigorin"

Wow! Stunning life! Almost unbelievable what he did in 44 years

Thank you, you do an amazing job of analyzing complex people, stories, human topics and explaining or distilling them into snack-size ways of understanding them. I love your channel. Bless you and please keep the coming.

Truly one of the best videos on your channel. Unfortunately, I have not read a lot of Chekhov but after watching this, I'm sure that's going to change. Thank you for putting out such amazing and insightful content! :)

BOOKS was the theme of 2022. I read 52 books in 52 weeks. 1) "The Way We Live Now" by Anthony Trollope 2) "Can You Forgive Her?" by Anthony Trollope 3) "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro 4) "Mark Twain: A Life" by Rom Powers 5) "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" by Mark Twain 6) "The Innocents Abroad" by Mark Twain 7) "The End of the Affair" by Graham Greene 8) "Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady" by Samuel Richardson 9) "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" by Muriel Spark 10) "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Truman Capote 11) "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" by Raymond Carver 12) "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy 13) "Resurrection" by Leo Tolstoy 14) "Master and Man" by Leo Tolstoy 15) "A Confession" by Leo Tolstoy 16) "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Leo Tolstoy 17) "The Raid" by Leo Tolstoy 18) "A Princess of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs 19) “In the First Circle" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 20) "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo 21) "Clara Militch" by Ivan Turgenev 22) "Mumu" by Ivan Turgenev 23) "Kassyan of Fair Springs" by Ivan Turgenev 24) "The Portrait Game" Ivan Turgenev 25) " Punin and Baburin" by Ivan Turgenev 26) "The Inn" by Ivan Turgenev 27) "The Watch" by Ivan Turgenev 28) "Acia" by Ivan Turgenev 29) "Home of the Gentry" by Ivan Turgenev 30) "On the Eve" by Ivan Turgenev 31) "Rudin" by Ivan Turgenev 32) "Smoke" by Ivan Turgenev 33) "First Love" by Ivan Turgenev 34) "The Torrents of Spring" by Ivan Turgenev 35) "How Russians Meet Death" by Ivan Turgenev 36) "Sketches from a Hunter's Album" by Ivan Turgenev 37) "Volodya" by Anton Chekhov 38) "Ward No. 6" by Anton Chekhov 39) "The Lady with the Dog" by Anton Chekov 40) "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" by Alexander Pushkin 41) "The Captain's Daughter" by Alexander Pushkin 42) “Le Grand Meaulnes, or the Lost Domain” by Alain-Fournier 43) "Poor Folk" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 44) "White Nights" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 45) "Flipped" by Wendelin Van Draanen 46) "Kolyma Tales" by Varlam Shalamov 47) "An Island Hell" by S. A. Malsagoff 48) "The Return of the Native" by Thomas Hardy 49) "Jude the Obscure" by Thomas Hardy 50) “Strait is the Gate” by André Gide 51) “And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer” by Fredrik Backman 52) “Middlemarch” by George Eliot It amounted to reading around 1,500 pages per month. Many months were over 2,000 pages. Samuel Richardson's book was from 1748 A.D. and was over 1,800 pages when written. I read the 808 page abridged edition and it was amazing. One of the first writers of English novels wrote one that can be loved today. I almost desire to look up the unabridged to read two of the letters near the end which I missed. The whole story was in letters like "Poor Folk" or "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." 20 of my top 100 books of all time I read this year. I am thinking this year was the best year of reading I've ever had. Neither of Mark Twain's books made the top 100, but they were amazing reads. I was reading him because of a biography by Ron Powers of Mark Twain and I plan to read another biography this year coming up. This is the year I found out Ivan Turgenev from Russia is my favorite author of all time and will never be surpassed. I plan on reading more of him next year too.

brilliant as usual, am always waiting in anticipation of the next, you have the gift of brevity without sacrificing detail and meaning. that makes you a poet I suppose!

The Virginia Wolfe quote reminds me of an video essay on David Lynch's final Twin Peaks season where it is asserted that the longing for closure tends to eclipse the more pressing need for balance.

Spasibo bolshoi! Thank you for your insightful and thorough presentation! Im glad I found your channel! I am looking forward to your other videos. You have inspired me to read and re-read the Russians and others.

Your Russian pronunciation is really good in the beginning, I'm impressed

This was narrated so well!!! Such a great video!! Loved it!