A Night in the Cemetery
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Anton Chekhov’s only collection of crime and mystery stories.
Considered one of the greatest dramatists of all time, Anton Chekhov began his literary career as a crime and mystery writer. Scattered throughout periodicals and literary journals from 1880-1890, these early psychological suspense stories provide a fresh look into Chekhov’s literary heritage and his formative years as a writer.
In stories like "A Night in the Cemetery," "Night of Horror," and "Murder," not only will Chekhov’s dark humor and twisted crimes satisfy even the most hardboiled of mystery fans, readers will again appreciate the penetrating, absurdist insight into the human condition that only Chekhov can bring. Whether it is the death of a young amateur playwright at the hands of an editor who hates bad writing, or a drunken civil servant who ends up trapped in a graveyard, these stories overflow with the unforgettable characters and unique sensibility that continue to make Chekhov one of the most fascinating figures in literature.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Best known today as a playwright, Chekhov (1860 1904) was also a prolific and accomplished writer of short fiction, as shown by this collection of 42 stories, most of which have previously been unavailable in English translation. As Sekirin notes in the preface, these stories appeared in a variety of periodicals "and until now have managed to escape the notice of contemporary editors and translators." Though billed as featuring crime and suspense, the volume has a broad range, including morality tales and stories of both dark and puckish humor. In the amusingly macabre "A Night of Horror," a man finds a coffin in his apartment. "Task," about a college student and bad checks, has a thoroughly modern ring. "A Crime: A Double Murder Case" is classic noir. Not all the selections shine, but enough do that the collection should appeal to more than just Chekhov fanatics.
