Chekhov.

Is that the one with the gran and grandad in the country writing to a daughter? Chekhov is so clever, I love his sparseness and the way you are never quite sure *exactly* what he meant. His descriptive passages are very sharp I always think, perhaps because of the sparseness.

Yes, it is that one. I must study the construction, because it's perfect. Not all Chekhov's stuff has lasted - I don't like the monologish ones much; but the best are staggering. I agree about the descriptions: nothing in them is arbitrary - for example, in "In the Ravine", the keys on Aksinya's belt.

Reading Raymond Carver turned me over to Chekhov, because Carver described him as the greatest short story writer ever, which struck me as I can't get enough of Carver's stuff. I bought a book and gave it a go but wasn't as blown away as i hoped I'd be - any suggestions? Other than those stories already mentioned of course.

I read the story last night on your recommendation and loved it. What I liked was the complete picture he seemed to give of that family in such a condensed fashion. But the bit I liked best were the dressmakers who came from the next village who were paid in goods they had no use for.

Yes, and not just of the family, but of the whole community and its religious and economic foundations - for which you could almost read "Russia". I loved that mention of the Flagellant sisters too; it encapsulated everything about the Tsybukin business.

Julian said I delayed answering your question till I'd finished reading the complete fourteen-volume Chekhov. These are my favourites, starting with three very short ones: Vanka. Misery. (Grief) At Christmas Time. Gusev. Anyuta. At Home. Rothschild's Fiddle. The Two Volodias. Ionitch. (Doctor Startsev.) The Murder In The Ravine. Peasant Wives. A Woman's Kingdom. The Party. (The Name-Day Party.) My Life. Three Years. The last two are, in effect, novels – two of the greatest ever written, in my opinion. d beswetherick.

You feel cleaner after reading Chekhov. He's like a good detergent or bleach. It's a surprise there isn't a detergent named after him. [%sig%]

Michael Casey 10 Reginald Rd Bearwood Warley B67 5AQ England Email michaelgcasey@hotmail.com Web http://msnusers.com/michaelcasey Internet Story © By Michael Casey So all I had to do was send an email , and then I’d be a writer , my book in every shop , my face smirking from cardboard cutouts of me holding my book aloft . My book had a great title , so it was bound to sell . A Nation Of Shopkeepers was a great title , if only people could remember their History , were people interested in History , and for that matter my book . It wasn’t a history book , would people think it WAS a history book , and then not buy it . It was a comedy drama , about a street of shops , interconnecting short stories , for all the family , but would people notice the levels , the strands of humour , or would they say it’s a Ma & Pa book , and miss the joke , just as one publisher called did ? I decided to keep the title , though I had a reserve title , The Butcher , The Baker and The Undertaker . Then I realised the US market would rename it The Butcher , The Baker And The Funeral Arranger . You don’t think about such things when you are writing the book , you’re just happy , on a roll , in love with your own intellect , or just surprized you actually DO have any intellect , then you discover that you are dyslexic , you really are dyslexic , thankfully not a really bad case , just dyslexic . As you proof read you see you have put BUT instead PUT , LEAD instead of READ , things like this and other strange things . Sure there are spellcheckers but or is it put , you have to check it anyway . As you read you are surprized at your own ability . You didn’t waste 4years in journalism school , but your writing is GOOD , Did I write that ? Then your chest filled with pride you get somebody else to read it , and guess what ? They think its crap . So now you have to decide , should I give up or should I carry on ? I gave up for as while , while is a unit of years in my case , my life took another path , so the writing was forgotten , it lay dormant for years , then like a phoenix it arose , or more truthfully , like a tortoise awaking from hibernation , sleep still in my eyes I slowly poked my head out , then back in , went back to sleep again , then finally with the pangs of hunger in my stomach I just had to do something . In my case it was eat , as in really eat , then I turned to my old Atari and realised it was not PC compatible , so I bought a new , or rather an old new Atari which was PC compatible . Then I spent a day copying my files so that I could read them on a PC . Then I wrote a few more pieces before I realised I’d get nowhere in England . The chances of being published were 1 in 2000 . So like a bear , I went back in my cave and slumbered . Meeting my wife Jing Jie was a turning point in my life , and not just because it was like Thunder as Jing Jie calls it , it was a turning point because I had a professional opinion on my writing , from a journalist at the very top of the tree . Her uncle is an editor in chief , so his comments were and are like gold , worth more than my first coffee and Cadbury’s chocolate , the pleasure rush I treat myself to every day , his comments really were that important to me , and I really DO like my Cadbury’s , so being better than Cadbury’s is the highest praise I can give . So I knew the quality of my writing , even if others said and say its crap . Getting a modern PC and internet connection was another turning point . Email in our house is like water and electic in any other homes . Jing Jie can “talk” to her mum in Shanghai every day . To friends all over the world as well . Birmingham IS the centre of the universe .So with hope and fear I had to transfer my files from my old Atari to the new PC . The floppy discs were old and battered , several were unreadable , finally my work , my babies were safely on the new PC . Just to be on the safe side I set up a website , so now my work was on somebody’s server in the US , thousands of miles away , safe from fire or theft . I could also put our new baby’s photos on the web site so that my Chinese family in Shanghai and Maimi and friends all over the world could see Annie and Jing Jie and me , they could even read my work too . So now all I had to do was market my work in the US , simple really , soon I’d be doing something useful with my life , making people laugh . I’d be a writing whore , I’d get paid to make others laugh , the best job in the world . So how would I set about it ? I got a list of radio stations from the internet and started sending emails galore . I’m talking in the hundreds now , to radio stations the length and breath of the US .They could publicise my site then eventually I’d get published , or my play would get produced . It was simple wasn’t it . So merrily I went about my business , sending emails galore . Years before I used to send off big heavy envelopes with my work in , with more persistance than hope in my heart .”Thank you for your pieces of paper“was the best put down . I once even met a writer and he agreed to to read my play Shoplife , then he wrote back calling me a plagerist , because it was so good . So I used his note as toilet paper , Shoplife was so good because I had 20years of experience given to me by my sister , I just improved on it , but yet I was called a Copyist , so naturally I was angry and used his note to wipe my bum . I wondered why my strike rate was so low with my emails to radio stations , then somebody casually mentioned , “You do know they will just delete anything with an attachment” . In these days of viruses or worms which I’ve discovered is the new trendy word , nobody can risk their PC , so I merrily send and they merrily delete . I’d been wasting my time , but not my money because I’d got a 24/7 package on my internet from AOL .However one radio station did read Shoplife . The DJ or is it Host , he called it hilarious and he could not stop reading it . It turned out he was an actor as well , though isn’t everybody an actor in the US ? So I thanked him , and quoted him in my future advertising .Humour is a funny thing . The things that make English people laugh are not the same as the things that make Americans’ laugh . We are constantly told by people on tv that English TV is the best in the world , the US material we see is the top 10% , the rest is rubbish . But I know I’d never get my foot in the door in England so I had to persist with my American campaign , so now I pasted in my material , no attachments . Just get them hooked , then paste in a sample then direct them to http://msnusers.com/michaelcasey Then bingo part2 of my life could begin ,I’d be the man that made America laugh , a naïve sentiment , but it was honest .Only AOL turns things into zip files and some people cann’t unzip your files , its like wanting sex but your zipper is broke and you cann’t get your trousers off . Such a strong urge , but no forfillment . I switched to MSMAIL and pasted in my stuff , things started to happen , my files weren’t being deleted or too zipped up to be read . At least I wasn’t frustrated any more . Now I had an agent interested , and a new magazine , even a theatre replied .All praise to Bill Gates , and to a Christian called Pat Verato who pointed me in the direction of a few good sites .However some of the sites that I trawled through were just , so very American . Hey , you too can be a writer , just send me 10 dollars and I’ll send you my book “How to make 10 dollars” , and he does . Then there’s magazines you can subscribe to , yes you’ve guessed it , just send another 10 dollars “Writing for Beginners” . There’s all these agents too who are so successful , persuading tap dancing bus drivers to write about Tap Dancing For Bus Drivers , the complete self help book , costs 10 dollars . The agent gets 20percent , and the bus driver pays 5000dollars to print 500 copies , then he can boast he’s a writer , not just a bus driver , and guess what if you pay 10 dollars you can learn to tap dance too . As for me , what do I think of all this ? I’d say just keep on writing , stop your selling , or attempts at selling , just write a bit . Add to your catologue of 3 poems and 2 short stories , then search for an agent . Believe you’ll never be published and then you won’t be disappointed. There is one final thing you can do though , just tell everybody to go to http://msnusers.com/michaelcasey And help find a publisher for my book , and then you’ve guessed it , just send me 10 dollars ! End

"To a chemist nothing on earth is unclean. A writer must be as objective as a chemist, he must lay aside his personal subjective standpoint and must understand that muck heaps play a very respectable part in a landscape . . ." (Letters.)

OK. I hated Chekhov at school and haven't been to a play or read a book of his since. I must be wrong. I will remedy this situation forthwith and report back.

His stuff is available all over the place online in Constant Garnett's antique but effective translations. Which makes it easy to pick and mix (the Chekhov selections in bookshops tend to contain all the worthiest and dullest stories, for some reason). Till recently I felt the same as you about Chekhov. Being older helps, I think; the doctrine of life's comic futility makes much more sense to me now. d.beswetherick.

I was going to make that point and then deleted it. I find that, whereas I used to find him insipid, I 'get' Checkhov more as the years go by. I'm not sure anyone shades emotion as well as him in a short story - maybe Frank O'Connor, but not on such a consistent basis. [%sig%]