ABOUT LOVE & OTHER STORIES - ANTON CHEKHOV

DID THE MASTER LIVE UP TO OUR EXPECTATIONS ?

 

 

 

 

 

....    The Hussies turned to something a little more serious after all the lighthearted Summer reads.

Love and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov.  Sensing Chekhov may be a bit more intense, our hussie chose short stories to give everyone the opportunity to dip in and out and compare stories and characters.   After all, the lead up to Christmas is always very busy and there is very little time to concentrate on sophisticated and complicated storylines.

 

....    The Hussies were not enthused by the master of short stories.  They felt his stories quite repetitive often following the same formula - a full and comprehensive description of the countryside, the characters be they gentry or peasants, religious or  political.  However when he highlights the equalities of Russian Society and questions its values. he does so with very few words.  You have to dig deep to identify and understand his interpretations of love, or our interpretations of love. We were probably naively thinking the short stories would be powerful accounts of undying love, crime and passion, brief encounters and such like.  Maybe it was a case of wrong age, wrong time.  If we were 30+ years younger studying for A level we may have been more passionate about searching out and identifying Chekhov's inner feelings. Feelings which came across as dark, deathly and angry, maybe,  reflecting his own short, ill-stricken life which appeared to lack in various aspects of love.  Chekhov also married late in life and lived apart from his wife.  He did not seem to hold women in good esteem.   This, again, is a very prominent factor in his stories.

 

....   No one read the whole book, but, between us I think most of the stories were covered.  The Hussies particularly enjoyed  'The Lady with the Little Dog', a 'timeless' short story leaving you guessing as to what will happen next.  Another Hussie enjoyed 'The Bishop',  a story written at the peak of his career showing how love between a mother and son, differs according to a mothers perception.  'About Love' was another firm favourite as was the absurdly named 'Fish Love'.  

 

....    Only three Hussies managed to join in the book discussion as Flu bugs caused us to be one Hussie down!  A return visit to Il Piccolo was booked and we have to say this restuarant is fastly becoming a firm favourite with the Hussies.  This small, friendly Italian Resturant in Corbridge offers exceptionally tasty food at very reasonable prices.  The 'House Lasagne' was especially good as were the pizzas, and, half portions are also available for the smaller appetites - nothing was too much trouble!

 

 

 

(friendly atmosphere at Il Piccolo)

 

 

....    Staying in the same century we are back to a full book, a GCSE  classic by a female writer with a male pseudo name, a sign of the times in the 19th century! 

 

 

SILAS MARNER by GEORGE ELIOT

 

 

 



 

 

....    Join us for a pre-Christmas Lunch to find out what our Christmas read will be .....

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                20 November 2013.

The Hussies' Top 10

We recommend.............

Do you need some reading inspiration?   Why not try our top 10?  

WIth some heated debate,  we considered all the Hussy books to date to identify our BEST READS.  

Reaching any concensus in our group is always tricky and this was almost impossible, but we did it, and here are the results.  Just for you!

The Hadrians Hussies Best Books to read (so far) are.............

Joint 1st place 

• The boy in the striped pyjamas  - John Boyne
• Endurance  - Alfred Lansing

3rd place

• The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

Joint 4th place

• Into the darkest corner  - Elizabeth Haynes
• A thousand splendid suns - Khaled Hosseini

Joint 6th place 

• Engleby  - Sebastian Faulks
• The Officer's Ward - Marc Dugain
• One Day - David Nicholls

9th place

• Far from the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

 Joint 10th Place

• Of Human Bondage - Somerset W. Maugham
• The Miller's Tale - Geoffrey Chaucer
• Madame Bovary  - Gustave Flaubert

Keen readers will note that this is actually a top 12  - I told you Hussy concensus was difficult! 

An afternoon with David Nobbs

We want more!   

A chilly Autumn Sunday afternoon and the hussies join a packed audience in Hexham library  to hear David Nobbs recount tales from his writing life.  David has already featured in this blog -  we read his Complete Pratt  and Sex and other Changes  - and today we are not quite sure who we will see or what we will hear.

According to the Hull Daily Mail, David Nobbs is 78 but he looks younger and this afternoon he demonstrates tremendous stamina without any evidence of any cognitive decline. Indeed, he is a  charming and engaging speaker with countless amusing anecdotes and the time whizzes by.  

He recalls his National Service, his early days as a journalist and his tenacity as a writer in the face of rebuttals.   His surname was an ideal launch pad for his comedy writing career and today, many of his stories describe experiences of script writing for comedians like the Two Ronnies,  Ken Dodd, and Stephen Fry.  Others, deal with the practical and political challenges of writing for a living.

Unsurprisingly, we hear more about The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin than his other works.  During the summer of 1976  (see blog archive)  he joined the shoot for the first TV series and his  fondness for Leonard Rossiter is evident.  

As he talks, we learn that much of David's inspiration comes from his close observations of people, things he hears them say, and the manner in which they are said.  He is a natural mimic with a broad repertoire of local dialects.

As the afternoon comes to a close, the audience is still hungry for more and there is insufficient time for Hadrians Hussies'  questions.  Why are his stories so often concerned with identity? What did he think of Martin Clunes as  Reggie?  Whose writing does he admire ?

Thrilled with my signed copy!  I grew up watching this with my dad. 

I was delighted to leave the Queens Hall with a signed copy of the Reginald Perrin Omnibus and even more thrilled that, when he has some free time, David agreed to answer more questions by email.

Watch this space for those answers -  we will be blogging Hadrians Hussies first literary interview!