The Shooting Party
by Anton Chekhov
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Description
In Moscow an unknown author approaches a publisher (the narrator), asking him to read and publish his manuscript. The narrator agrees to read it before the author returns three months later. At the heart of the story in the manuscript is a love triangle and themes of corruption, concealed love and fatal jealousy. When one of the central characters is discovered dead, the narrative becomes a murder-mystery as the search for the culprit begins. Written by Chekhov in his early twenties, The show more Shooting Party is his only full-length novel. Here it is read by the prolific and popular narrator Nicholas Boulton. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This book was part of my immersion in Chekhov's writing, which I elaborated on in my review of the Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Anton Chekhov ebook.
This was his longest work that tells the story of a retailer's daughter in a provincial Russian village who is stabbed to death in the woods during a hunting party, and the efforts to uncover her killer.
It's not what is considered a 'great' novel, nor even a great mystery story, though some have proclaimed it a landmark in the history of the crime story. Its uniqueness lies in its innovative structure which has prefigured numerous stories since, and, of course, in Chekhov's ability to bring any simple premise to engrossing, realistic life. A story that's recalled even show more as the gray matter shrinks in old age :-) [Somehow this book came to mind as I was pondering why I got up and headed for another room.] show less
This was his longest work that tells the story of a retailer's daughter in a provincial Russian village who is stabbed to death in the woods during a hunting party, and the efforts to uncover her killer.
It's not what is considered a 'great' novel, nor even a great mystery story, though some have proclaimed it a landmark in the history of the crime story. Its uniqueness lies in its innovative structure which has prefigured numerous stories since, and, of course, in Chekhov's ability to bring any simple premise to engrossing, realistic life. A story that's recalled even show more as the gray matter shrinks in old age :-) [Somehow this book came to mind as I was pondering why I got up and headed for another room.] show less
I have never felt a real passion for Russian literature, with it's typical cold descriptions of emotions, lots of characters (often with multiple complicated names), and the tendency to describe boring and unimportant matters in full detail. I am, of course, exaggerating, and there are exceptions (personally I am a fan of Dostoyevsky's work). But this book is not.
The real action only begins around three quarters into the book, and consists of a rather simple murder story. The announced 'surprising ending' is not as surprising as I had hoped, and is quite abrupt.
The main advantage of this book is that it is not too long, and probably a nice introduction to Tsjechov's larger works if you have a few hours of spare time. But you will have show more to struggle through the dull first 120 pages before things get interesting. show less
The real action only begins around three quarters into the book, and consists of a rather simple murder story. The announced 'surprising ending' is not as surprising as I had hoped, and is quite abrupt.
The main advantage of this book is that it is not too long, and probably a nice introduction to Tsjechov's larger works if you have a few hours of spare time. But you will have show more to struggle through the dull first 120 pages before things get interesting. show less
Un editor recibe la visita de un ex juez que le ofrece un relato escrito por él mismo, sobre un hecho real, en el se cuenta la historia de una joven y bella mujer que ha sido encontrada agonizando en un bosque. El juez incrimina al marido de la mujer.
El editor según avanza en el relato llega a la conclusión de que se ha cometido un terrible error al condenar a un inocente
El editor según avanza en el relato llega a la conclusión de que se ha cometido un terrible error al condenar a un inocente
Oct 20, 2013 (Edited)Spanish
gelesen in Bautzen
Jun 25, 2025German
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Author Information
2,632+ Works 44,686 Members
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born in the provincial town of Taganrog, Ukraine, in 1860. In the mid-1880s, Chekhov became a physician, and shortly thereafter he began to write short stories. Chekhov started writing plays a few years later, mainly short comic sketches he called vaudvilles. The first collection of his humorous writings, Motley show more Stories, appeared in 1886, and his first play, Ivanov, was produced in Moscow the next year. In 1896, the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg performed his first full- length drama, The Seagull. Some of Chekhov's most successful plays include The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, and Three Sisters. Chekhov brought believable but complex personalizations to his characters, while exploring the conflict between the landed gentry and the oppressed peasant classes. Chekhov voiced a need for serious, even revolutionary, action, and the social stresses he described prefigured the Communist Revolution in Russia by twenty years. He is considered one of Russia's greatest playwrights. Chekhov contracted tuberculosis in 1884, and was certain he would die an early death. In 1901, he married Olga Knipper, an actress who had played leading roles in several of his plays. Chekhov died in 1904, spending his final years in Yalta. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Shooting Party
- Original title
- Драма на охоте
- Original publication date
- 1885
- Related movies
- The Shooting Party (1978 | IMDb); Summer Storm (1944 | IMDb)
- First words*
- Kerran huhtikuussa vuonna 1880 vahtimestari Andrei astui puolenpäivän aikaan työhuoneeseeni ja ilmoitti salamyhkäisesti, että toimitukseen oli tullut herra, joka pyysi hartaasti päästä toimittajan puheille.
- Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Henkeäni ahdisti.
- Original language
- Russian
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Mystery
- DDC/MDS
- 891.733 — Literature & rhetoric Literatures of other languages East Indo-European and Celtic literatures Russian and East Slavic languages Russian fiction 1800–1917
- LCC
- PG3456 .D7 — Language and Literature Slavic languages and literatures. Baltic languages. Albanian language Slavic. Baltic. Albanian Russian literature Individual authors and works 1870-1917 Chekhov
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 552
- Popularity
- 53,405
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.91)
- Languages
- 14 — Catalan, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 39
- ASINs
- 19
