Book Review: The Story of a Nobody
As it had been a while since I last read an Anton Chekhov, I sat down with interest when I found his relatively unsung gem The Story of a Nobody (also titled An Anonymous Story) at a nearby bookstore. A short novella, running short of 100 pages, TSoaN is a beautifully written work with amazing characters.
Set in the early 1890's, the titular character, Stephen (who is the Nobody), is a member of a socialist group that plans to overthrow the ruling class as they are considered a serious enemy to their cause. When the story begins, Stephen takes the job of a manservant in the home of a low-grade government officer, Georgy Ivanitch, in order to get close to his father who holds a government position of great clout, and assassinate him.
His master, Georgy (interchangeably Orlov), professes equal contempt for both the ruling class and the bourgeois, yet he conforms to the former as it better suits his tastes. But weeks into the job, Stephen gets increasingly disillusioned with his mission as he begins to sympathize with the proceedings in the family, and when he gets a chance to kill his man, he doesn't and instead elopes with his master's wife Zina, who eventually feels disenchanted with the prospects of love after moving with him.
The writing is impeccable and while there are no surprises in the plot, it's the dialogues and the characters that kept me reading till the end. Especially one line which struck me the most was a telegram that the lovelorn Zina writes to Orlov - May the New Year bring new happiness. Make haste and telegraph; I miss you dreadfully. It seems an eternity. I am only sorry I can't send a thousand kisses and my very heart by telegraph. Enjoy yourself, my darling. ZINA.
Stephen, as the guy who hopelessly falls in love with his master's mistress as he fails in his objective; Orlov, as the intelligent and a hypocritical ruling-class bureaucrat who shirks away from his responsibilities as a husband; and Zina as the woman in search of true love who finally resigns herself to her fate, are incredibly vivid and realistic. The ending may be quite banal but Nobody is highly recommended for its brilliant writing style and equally well-etched characterizations.
Set in the early 1890's, the titular character, Stephen (who is the Nobody), is a member of a socialist group that plans to overthrow the ruling class as they are considered a serious enemy to their cause. When the story begins, Stephen takes the job of a manservant in the home of a low-grade government officer, Georgy Ivanitch, in order to get close to his father who holds a government position of great clout, and assassinate him.
His master, Georgy (interchangeably Orlov), professes equal contempt for both the ruling class and the bourgeois, yet he conforms to the former as it better suits his tastes. But weeks into the job, Stephen gets increasingly disillusioned with his mission as he begins to sympathize with the proceedings in the family, and when he gets a chance to kill his man, he doesn't and instead elopes with his master's wife Zina, who eventually feels disenchanted with the prospects of love after moving with him.
The writing is impeccable and while there are no surprises in the plot, it's the dialogues and the characters that kept me reading till the end. Especially one line which struck me the most was a telegram that the lovelorn Zina writes to Orlov - May the New Year bring new happiness. Make haste and telegraph; I miss you dreadfully. It seems an eternity. I am only sorry I can't send a thousand kisses and my very heart by telegraph. Enjoy yourself, my darling. ZINA.
Stephen, as the guy who hopelessly falls in love with his master's mistress as he fails in his objective; Orlov, as the intelligent and a hypocritical ruling-class bureaucrat who shirks away from his responsibilities as a husband; and Zina as the woman in search of true love who finally resigns herself to her fate, are incredibly vivid and realistic. The ending may be quite banal but Nobody is highly recommended for its brilliant writing style and equally well-etched characterizations.
Comments
Post a Comment