About Chekhov: The Unfinished Symphony

by Ivan Bunin, Thomas Gaiton Marullo

Overview

Seven years after the death of Anton Chekhov, his sister, Maria, wrote to a friend, "You asked for someone who could write a biography of my deceased brother. If you recall, I recommended Iv. Al. Bunin . . . . No one writes better than he; he knew and understood my deceased brother very well; he can go about the endeavor objectively. . . . I repeat, I would very much like this biography to correspond to reality and that it be written by I.A. Bunin."

In About Chekhov Ivan Bunin sought to free the writer from limiting political, social, and aesthetic assessments of his life and work, and to present both in a more genuine, insightful, and personal way. Editor and translator Thomas Gaiton Marullo subtitles About Chekhov "The Unfinished Symphony," because although Bunin did not complete the work before his death in 1953, he nonetheless fashioned his memoir as a moving orchestral work on the writers' existence and art. . . . "Even in its unfinished state, About Chekhov stands not only as a stirring testament of one writer's respect and affection for another, but also as a living memorial to two highly creative artists." Bunin draws on his intimate knowledge of Chekhov to depict the writer at work, in love, and in relation with such writers as Tolstoy and Gorky. Through anecdotes and observations, spirited exchanges and reflections, this memoir draws a unique portrait that plumbs the depths and complexities of two of Russia's greatest writers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810123823
Publisher:	Northwestern University Press
Publication date:	06/05/2007
Series:	Studies in Russian Literature and Theory
Edition description:	1
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Ivan Bunin (1880-1953), a poet and writer of short fiction, won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1933. Three of his works, Night of Denial (2006), The Liberation of Tolstoy: A Tale of Two Writers (2001, 1055 cloth copies sold), and The Life of Arseniev (1994, 846 paper copies sold) are published by Northwestern University Press.

Thomas Gaiton Marullo is director of the Program in Russian and East European Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of If You See the Buddha: Studies in the Fiction of Ivan Bunin (Northwestern, 1998), and the editor and translator of Ivan Bunin: Twilight of Émigré Russia 1934-1953 (Ivan R. Dee, 2002), The Liberation of Tolstoy: A Tale of Two Writers (Northwestern, 2001), Cursed Days (Ivan R. Dee, 1998), Ivan Bunin: From the Other Shore (Ivan R. Dee, 1995), and Ivan Bunin: Russian Requiem 1885-1920 (Ivan R. Dee, 1993).

Table of Contents

Editor's Preface

Editor's Introduction: Bunin and Chekhov

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Appendix: List of Individuals Mentioned in the Text

Index

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Ivan Bunin's The Liberation of Tolstoy:
"Marullo and Khmelkov have not only supplied us with a graceful translation, they have provided annotations, more voluminous than Bunin's original text, that display a breathtaking depth of knowledge about Bunin, Tolstoy, and Russian literature and culture in general. This is an invaluable contribution." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher