I knew almost nothing about Chekhov. I did remember a photo of him visiting a very old Tolstoy. I see he was born in 1860 and mostly wrote short stories and plays. These works (called "short novels" by the translators) are probably the longest works he wrote - five stories, each in the range of 100+ pages.He was born and raised in a town near the Sea of Azov; his father wasn't very nice it seems, plus bankrupted the family; Chekhov thus grew up quickly and took a lot of responsibility for the family. Became a doctor but didn't do a lot with it; gradually became very well known for his writing.
I liked these novels, a lot.
The first was The Steppe - very different from the other four. Atmospheric, plus. A small boy travels across the steppe to live with a relative and go to school following the death of his mother; he is in the company of a priest, a merchant and then various folks crossing the steppe. Chekhov knew the steppe from growing up and this is a delight to read. The plot, such as it is, is secondary to setting the scene. I probably liked this best of the five.
The Duel was recently made into a movie; it's in the Netflix queue.
The Story of an Unknown Man - this is about someone who poses as a servant to gain information about an enemy, ends up in love with his master's paramour.
Three Years - wealthy Moscow merchant marries a provincial (Yulia) who is not in love with him. They persevere, nice ending.
My Life - Young nobleman doesn't want to undertake a noble profession and falls out with his father. Paints house roofs. Marries the engineer's daughter and they undertaking farming (along with a sobering effort to raise up the serfs (resonant with Tolstoy). Ends up looking out for his sister's daughter (a variant of this theme happened three times in these five stories.)
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