Champagne by Chekov (short story)

Champagne Chekov

This is a devastating Chekov short story. It's about a man working as a signalman in the middle of the Russian steppes. He isn't happy. Chekov describes his wife looking at him with the love that comes from her having no opportunity and no income. i.e. desperation. It is pretty brutal. He is visited by a vibrant sexy widower and gets drunk. This isn't a chance for redemption, only a way of allowing the man to carry his previous fuck ups into a different, not better future. The story fits in tidily the history and environment around this man, perhaps it's only source of comfort is the perfection of the writing craft itself. Even in passing the description of a slightly thick person enjoying the feeling of being miserable as he trudges down the railway line, as it gives him a weight he can't otherwise access... it's so precise it is perfect. Anyway, I love Chekov. I don't really like the look of this Ford chooses Chekov anthology, and Ford's introduction struck me when I read it as being something like " I don't know much about Chekov but I'm such a great Chekovian writer myself I've picked this lot." Arrogant pish. But who cares about the packaging really, this story shines out. x