Short Stories by Anton s> Chekhov Gordon McVay (review)

Abstract

Io8 SEER, 8i, I, 2003 moments stand out in sharprelief. Sergei Solov'ev writes incisively about an apparentconflict in the philosopher'slife when deciding whether to leave 'all the earthly Galakteas to the Chaldeans or trying himself to incarnate the heavenly in the earthlyand to recognize in an earthlybeloved the featuresof his celestial friend' (p. 207). The same task that Solov'ev allocated to philosophy in lateryears the spiritualizationof the material his nephew thus sees presenting itself before the man in his human relationshipsduring the course of his life. After severalanguishedloves, of whom Sofiia Khitrovo standsout as 'the unique love of Solov'ev'sentire life' (p. 249), the resolution of thistaskis leftunambiguous.In the end, intones the author,'Solov'evcould only fallin love with lakes'(p. 448). While the work impresseswith its content and penetrating commentary, therearea numberof easilyremediedweaknesses.The biographerhas a habit of repeating citations more than once for no particularreason. This may or may not be a result of hurried editing in the latter stages of the work's composition. On page 55, for example, a quotation of seven lines is given which is repeated in its entirety from pages 42-43. Several minor additions and alterations could make this edition more attractive. The number of typographicalerrors,at a modest count, adds up to over two dozen. Citations in Greek, Latin, German and French are given without translation, which could present difficultiesto many readers.The addition of a smallnumber of photographswould also provide the readerwith some usefulvisual aidswhen consideringthose closestto Solov'ev. Sergei Solov'ev in many places encourages his uncle to speak for himself through the regular insertion of Solov'ev's poetry into the body of the narrative.The importanceof such an approachshouldnot be overlooked,nor should one see it only as commensurate with Vladimir Solov'ev's increasing interestin poetry towardsthe end of his life. 'Only human natureand life are worthy of study in themselves, and one can get to know them best of all in works of true poetry' (p. 58), the young Solov'ev wrote to his first love. Solov'ev did not consider himself a great poet, but believed in the objective truth of a poetic view on life. Sergei evidently did consider his uncle to be a great poet. He also sharedhis belief in the power of poetic vision. In the final reckoning, this work does not operate discursively,nor is it simply narrative. The warmthof Sergei Solov'ev'swritingallowsthe readerto sharein the love of the philosopher'slife, and the poetry of Vladimir Solov'ev confirms in us the suspicion that it is here that we glimpse the 'single, comprehensivevision of the world'to which the formerhad hoped to lead us. School ofSlavonic andEastEuropean Studies 0. L. G. SMITH University College London Chekhov, Anton. ShortStories.Edited and introduced by Gordon McVay. Foreword by Zinovy Zinik. The Folio Society, London, 200I. 480 pp. Notes. Illustrations.C27.50. THIS is the second volume of Chekhov stories to be published by the Folio Society, the first,containing six translatedby ElizavetaFen, having appeared REVIEWS lO9 in 1974. The present consists of 34 stories dating from between I883 and I902, the majority of which are edited versions of Constance Garnett's translations but with most of the earlier stories reproduced from Patrick Miles's and Harvey Pitcher's Chekhov. 7The Early Storiesi883-88 (London, I982), minus their editorial notes. There are also three stories translatedby Harvey Pitcher alone and one, 'The Student', translatedby the editor and selected for special treatment on the grounds, presumably, that 'Chekhov's brother, Ivan, claimed that Anton valued "The Student" above all his other works, because he considered it the "most polished" artistically' (p. 477). Debra McFarlanehas provided nine colour illustrationsas well as designinga handsome cover in quartercloth and paper. The matt colour sketcheshave a faintly surrealand generalized 'period' aura and do not altogether augment the spiritof Chekhov'sspecificallyRussianrealism. Garnett'stranslations,now nearlya centuryold, have stood the test of time and editorialimprovementto the earlierstoriesis largelycosmetic, where it is not pedantic, and involves the regularization/modernization of transliterated names and places. Editorial intervention in the later, more familiar and longer, stories is more extensive and, in the interests of improved accuracy, modernization...