Anton Chekhov Early Short Stories, 1883-1888 (Modern Library)

" Chekhov is a supreme artist " said Harold Brodkey. "He has conferred more meaning on us than any other artist of the century. He is the founding master and tutelary spirit of democratic realism." This collection selected by Shelby Foote presents seventy of Chekhovs early short stories written between 1883 and 1888 in celebrated translations by Constance Garnett. One of the most memorable is "The Death of a Government Clerk " a glorious parody in which a fawning official is undone by an ill-timed sneeze. "On the Road " the history of an educated mans search for convictions is one of Chekhovs finest dramatic stories and the source of his first full-length play Ivanov. And in "The Steppe " which marked a turning point in Chekhovs career a boys picaresque journey across the Russian heartland evokes the soul of Russia itself. Also included are "The Huntsman " "Anyuta " "Easter Eve " "Happiness " and "The Kiss." "Chekhov is a superb anatomist of the human heart and an utter master of his literary means " said John Barth. "The details of scene and behavior the emotions registered--seldom bravura typically muted and complex often as surprising to the characters themselves as to the reader but always right--move astonish and delight us line after line story after story." Eudora Welty agreed: "Chekhov speaking simply and never otherwise than as an artist and a humane man showed us in fullness and plenitude the mystery of our lives. . . . What truth he found through his stories is ours forever." Shelby Foote has provided an Introduction for this edition.