Richard Ford, a novelist and short-story writer, is the author of the national bestseller Independence Day,
which won the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 1996. He has received the Rea Award for
the Short Story (1993) and the Award of Merit in the Novel (1996), awarded by the American Academy of Arts and
Letters. His most recent book is Women with Men: Three Stories.
Summary
Of the two hundred stories that Anton Chekhov wrote, the twenty stories that appear in this extraordinary collection
were personally chosen by Richard Ford--an accomplished storyteller in his own right. Included are the familiar
masterpieces--"The Kiss," "The Darling," and "The Lady with the Dog"--as well as
several brilliant lesser-known tales such as "A Blunder," "Hush!," and "Champagne."
These stories, ordered from 1886 to 1899, are drawn from Chekhov's most fruitful years as a short-story writer.
A truly balanced selection, they exhibit the qualities that make Chekhov one of the greatest fiction writers of
all time: his gift for detail, dialogue, and humor; his emotional perception and compassion; and his understanding
that life's most important moments are often the most overlooked.
"The reason we like Chekhov so much, now at our century's end," writes Ford in his perceptive introduction,
"is because his stories from the last century's end feel so modern to us, are so much of our own time and
mind." Exquisitely translated by the renowned Constance Garnett, these stories present a wonderful opportunity
to introduce yourself--or become reaquainted with--an artist whose genius and influence only increase with every
passing generation.
