Description
Book SynopsisIn Reading Chekhov Janet Malcolm takes on three roles: literary critic, biographer and journalist. Her close readings of Chekhov's stories and plays are interwoven with episodes from his life and framed by an account of a recent journey she made to St Petersburg. Malcolm demonstrates how the shadow of death that hovered over most of Chekhov's literary career - he became consumptive in his twenties and died in his forties - is almost everywhere reflected in the work. She writes of his childhood, his relationship with his family, his marriage, his travels, his early success, his exile to Yalta - always with an eye to connecting them to his themes and characters.
Trade ReviewShe is like no other critic I have ever read: limpid, revelatory and startlingly attentive to every nuance * Financial Times *
Malcolm writes wonderfully well. Her character sketches are superb. Malcolm's own talents are such that even on an off day she can't write a boring sentence -- John Lancaster * Daily Telegraph *
Affectionate and insightful... Her writing is exuberant... Malcolm can be captivating whatever her subject -- Simon Hammond * Observer *
Quite simply the best book about his methods as a storyteller I have read -- Paul Bailey * Sunday Times *
She has the shy writer's gift for coming up with highly provocative statements in the quiet of her study - that the biographer is like "the professional burglar", that the work of the journalist is "morally indefensible" - and then claiming to be surprised when people are provoked. She is not about to get caught out in careless self-revelation * Independent *
Malcolm gets to the heart of Chekhov, or at least comprehensibly, and comprehensively, maps out his mysteries for us, not only telling us what makes him tick but why we should regard him as one of the greatest writers to have lived * Guardian *
