Chekov: The Hidden Ground - Softcover

Callow, Philip

3.89

19 ratings by Goodreads

9780094798205: Chekov: The Hidden Ground

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0094798206 ISBN 13: 9780094798205

Publisher: Constable, 2002

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Sensitively written, this biography of Russia''s finest dramatist and short story writer reveals the surprising contradictions in the man. Callow portrays someone whose art was profoundly humane yet who was often cold and fearful in his private life.'

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Review:

Well written, intelligent...a fine biography.--Atlantic Monthly

Gracefully written, an easy read.--Milton Ehre "The Washington Times "

Vivid...Callow successfully unravels the mystery of Chekhov.--Conan Putnam "Chicago Tribune "

Callow strikes a balance between Chekhov?'s prose and drama, and chronicling his life...very readable.--Donald Rayfield "Literary Review "

Callow strikes a balance between Chekhovis prose and drama, and chronicling his life...very readable.--Donald Rayfield "Literary Review "

From the Back Cover:

Examining Chekhov's life within the context of his art, Mr. Callow finds him astonishingly modern: the new kind of man, uncomfortable in the world and refusing to sentimentalize his unease. But the love theme that is central to his biography and his art, which Mr. Callow explores with a novelist's skills and sensitivities, has been somehow slighted by Chekhov scholars. It is the hidden ground from which his work sprang and on which his divided life stood. We must constantly remind ourselves that Chekhov was for years a doctor first and a writer second, seeing writing as a frivolous, irrelevant activity. He exhausted himself with this double life and was soon in bad health. Mr. Callow's portrait reveals a puzzlingly elusive man who constantly surprises us: a modest genius who finds the whole nature of fame unseemly; a man furious at injustice who is apolitical; a humorist in despair before the mediocrity, stupidity, and cruelty of the world; a generous spirit unable to stop working to improve the lot of others, incapable of turning anyone away, who remains stubbornly apart and hidden.

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