I love short stories, and I love a deadline (I’ll examine the latter part of that statement with some bemusement tomorrow, I think). So I’ve decided to join in the fun at Ready When You Are, C.B, where they’re running Short Story September, with a short story review.
Chekhov’s story Murder reminds me of the Theatresports game Murder Endowments, where the elected victim has to act in such a way that when the murderer returns to play, it is immediately apparent who should be knocked off. But in Murder, instead of just one odious victim, Chekhov gives us a whole range of characters whose personalities force detective guesses to rebound. Matvey Terekhov, the righteous simpleton, bores fellow villagers to tears with enthusiastic retellings of church happenings; the barbate good looks of Matvey’s cousin, Yakov Ivanych, can’t hide the lack of good feeling he has towards others; and Yakov’s sister Aglaya is a money-hungry mother who speaks only to shriek and whine.
Life at Progonnaya sees faith and hypocrisy as friends, and the characters each have their own variation of this curious blend of characteristics. One sings hymns while denying friends bread, another speaks of devotion while laying claim to family property; so it’s no surprise that before long at least one person has behaved in a most irreligious way. And of course, the titular murder is a chance for Chekhov to get some mileage out of the symbols of purity and sin; a white kerchief (worn in the 1800s by members of the Flagellant sect) gets well and truly splattered with blood at the scene of the crime.
Lest anyone think Chekhov has lost his moral compass, the climactic murder doesn’t mark the end of the story. Villagers watch as the culprits are most publicly taken in hand, and justice is of course served. Or is it? Somehow, ineffable and self-validating faith, the worst incarnation of that phenomenon, sneaks through the ugliness of hell to again find rest in its most loyal proponents. Murder teaches a lesson that is easy to see in the lives of others but difficult to discern in our own, and for that we may be grateful, or not.
gautami.tripathy | 30th Sep 08 | 11:28 pm |
At one time I used to read a lot of Russian authors. Now I can’t as Ifind their books too long and I can’t concentrate or long. But short stories are easily read. With this challenge, I discovered many genres and loved exploring online. I read lot more than what I reviewed.
Chekov is good. And Nabokov too is good. I liked Natasha very much.
I like your review. Thanks.
And please join in this movement:
Kill word verification
*grin*
C. B. James | 1st Oct 08 | 12:15 pm |
Thanks for the link and for joining the short story challenge. This counts as one entry in the giveaway.
Dakota will be choosing the winner tomorrow afternoon.