While at a party organized by the local landowner for the officers of his brigade, the shy and awkward Ryabovich is suddenly kissed by an unknown woman in a dark room. This unexpected, electrifying encounter, which he relives in his mind day after day, marks a turning point for Ryabovich, showing him that everything in life - joy, sorrow, hope - is equally pointless and subject to chance. One of Chekhov's most admired stories, 'The Kiss' is joined in this volume by six other celebrated tales in a new translation by Hugh Aplin: 'The Lady with the Little Dog', 'Ward Six', 'The Black Monk', 'The House with a Mezzanine', 'The Bishop' and 'Peasants' - making this an indispensable collection for those wanting to discover Chekhov at his creative best.

About the Author
Anton Chekhov is one of the giants of modern literature, exerting a strong influence on many present-day novelists and dramatists. As a playwright, he ranks in popularity second only to Shakespeare in the English-speaking world. As a prose writer, he was one of the first to use the stream-of-consciousness technique, and his anti-heroic realism, full of ambiguity and allusion, provides no easy moral conclusions and results in a new kind of narrative approaching real life in a way no writer had achieved before him.

Reviews
What writers influenced me as a young man? Chekhov! As a dramatist? Chekhov! As a story writer? Chekhov! -- Tennessee Williams The virtue of this story is its completeness, its summoning of human feelings perfectly matched to the events that produce them. * The Independent *



Book Information
ISBN 9781847494191
Author Anton Chekhov
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Alma Classics
Publisher Alma Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 240g