Last month, when Marcie, Bill and I read Gooseberries for our George Saunders Swim in a Pond in the Rain project, we discovered that the Anton Chekhov story was actually part of a trilogy of stories. When I dug a little deeper (Wikipedia) I found that Chekhov in fact had even bigger plans. On 29th … Continue reading The Little Trilogy | Anton Chekhov| This Reading Life
If you were to ask me what I love most about Chekhov as a writer, I’d probably say that it’s …Continue reading →| The Pittsburgh Tatler
The whole sky had been overcast with rain-clouds from early morning; it was a still day, not hot, but heavy, as it is in grey dull weather when the clouds have been hanging over the country for a l…| This Reading Life
beautiful Pelagea, looking so refined and soft, brought them towels and soap,| The Australian Legend
Olenka, the daughter of the retired collegiate assessor, Plemyanniakov, was sitting in her back porch, lost in thought. It was hot, the flies were persistent and teasing, and it was pleasant to ref…| This Reading Life
At the sight of her full rosy cheeks, her soft white neck with a little dark mole on it, and the kind, naïve smile, which came into her face when she listened to anything pleasant, men thought, …| The Australian Legend
They drove out of the town at half past eight in the morning. The road was dry, the wonderful April sun was very warm, but there was still snow in the ditches and the woods. The fierce, dark, long …| This Reading Life
She felt as though she had been living in that part of the country for ages and ages, for a hundred years, and it seemed to her that she knew every stone, every tree| The Australian Legend
I continue my sabbatical from longform criticism as I write my novel, Major Arcana, which I am now serializing on Substack in both text and audio format for paid subscribers. For now, a brief catalogue of my last month’s reading. My weekly Substack newsletter, in addition to other material like the occasional podcast, is always free. I encourage […]| John Pistelli