ABOUT TRUTH, ABOUT FREEDOM, ABOUT LOVE A Trilogy of Short Stories

In the U.S., Anton Chekhov is celebrated chiefly for having written four brilliant, innovative full-length plays though the Russian writer/doctor achieved fame in his lifetime as a prolific writer of equally fine short stories. Max Bollinger, also Russian born and bred, is making it his business to revise and record English translations of them all. In this volume of three complementary works, the results are mixed. On the plus side, we can trust his pronunciation of Russian names. He executes dialogue passages with color and spot-on characterizations. He reads with acute understanding of milieu and subtext. His enthusiasm is infectious. On the minus side, he mispronounces many non-Russian words and names. For example, “Aphrodite” becomes “AFF-roe-deet.” Further, his phrasing and thick accent are often “ear-itating.” Y.R. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2011]