Why is it so hard to say the words that matter before it’s too late? In the final installment of our Chekhov trilogy, host Lev Lesokhin explores "About Love" (1898). This is the story of Alehin and Anna Alexeyevna, two people who spend years in a state of quiet, agonizing mutual attraction, only to confess their love at the moment of permanent separation.

This story puts on full display the "Chekhovian" nature of missed connections and how the social restrictions we build for ourselves, such as morality, obligation, and fear, often prevent us from living authentically. We look at why this 19th-century masterpiece is the ultimate precursor to the modern situationship and the YOLO notion of today.

What is the price of a personal paradise? Join host Lev Lesokhin for the second installment of our Chekhov trilogy as we explore "Gooseberries" (1898). In this episode, we follow the story of a man obsessed with buying a country estate, partly to grow his own gooseberries, and the brother who watches this "success" with a mixture of pity and disgust.

This story explores the notion of happiness and its flipside - suffering. Some of the questions it raises are deeply personal and philosophical. Can anyone truly be happy? Is happiness an illusion of the mind? Does happiness require those who are afflicted with suffering to suffer in silence? The story displays a postmodern self-reflectiveness, decades before Postmodernism comes into fashion. It leaves us with more questions than answers as a result, wondering whether we have our own secret version the gooseberry bush.

The Man in a Shell – 19th-Century Cringe

Description:

Is it possible to live your entire life in a "case"? Join our reading host Lev Lesokhin, NYC tech executive and bilingual Chekhov enthusiast, as we dive into the first installment of Anton Chekhov’s famous 1898 trilogy. This is followed by Gooseberries and then About Love.

In this episode, we learn of the neuroses of Belikov, a man so terrified of the real world that he retreats into galoshes and umbrellas, effectively "gatekeeping" his own happiness. We explore why this 19th-century character study is the ultimate example of cringe behavior. And how this doesn't help his situationship with Varenka.

Whether you are a fan of Russian literature, a student of psychology, or just here for the dry humor, join us at Club Chekhov to see why the "Small Man" of the Tsarist era is still alive and well in the digital age.