The Major Plays (Signet Classics)

I bought this book for a class I took that focused on Chekhov's works. I had heard of most of these plays before, but had never read them before this class. Chekhov's plays really show a mastery of subtlety, whether it be the theme of action vs. inaction in "Uncle Vanya" or pondering one's self-worth in "The Seagull." I had not read many plays outside of Shakespeare, but I'm glad I had a chance to read Chekhov and learn about one of the greatest playwrights. All of the major works are in this book, so it's an excellent starting point for people who want to read some of Anton Chekhov's plays.I also highly recommend a book that contains Chekhov's short stories, which are much more in number and equally captivating.

Excellent book and translation.

ordered for my son who needed it for college and it was just what he needed and he loved it.

The plays are well written and interpreted, but, to me, dark. Typical Russian author that I do not enjoy. Just a personal choice. I had to buy this book for a class.

Before this collection of plays was reissued, it was originally presented to the reader by a translator named Ann Dunnigan. That text was released some 20 years ago. These days you are likely to find a copy of her work in a used bookstore. To that I say: Good; go and find it there.Her translation of this literature is more than adequate. Why the publisher felt the need to drag up a man who cannot even speak or read Russian and have him 'translate' it from other texts is beyond me. As a person who reads a lot of translations from various languages, I cannot imagine the arrogance it must take to think that you can 'translate' something and 'get a feel for an author' by not even being able to read the authors work. THAT edition is not worth your time.However, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on an original Ann Dunnigan translation, you are in for a real treat- five of Chekhovs most important works, presented in a highly readable text. The translations are crisp, though she does tend to use ellipses quite frequently. She also tends to forgo annotations which might help a western reader to understand some of what is going on in the text. A quick review of Russian history towards the end of the 19th century can really help in that area.The plays themselves are fairly dense material, though they are indeed readable. Chekhov portrays Russian life as an endless questioning of existence- Who am I? Where am I going? and tedium- at least once in every play someone begins to complain about how bored they are.The plays are also depressing in nature. There are only two in this collection in which someone does not die at the end and in one of those two someone ATTEMPTS to kill another. The remaining one is indeed the most touching of them all (The Cherry Orchard), though even this one presents the moral and financial death of several of its characters (who would take delight in buying a treasure from underneath anothers nose, then celebrate it to their face?). In all, the plays are good, the characters are memorable, though some of the situations feel repetitive (Ivanov and The Sea Gull seem to have the same pattern to them).Should these facts (dense and depressing) prevent you from reading these plays? Never. If depressing material were taboo then Shakespeare would be out of the question too; who would want to read Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet? The same holds true here- you can learn a lot by reading Chekhov, by observing how masterfully he crafts situations out of day-to-day conversations between his characters. It is this fine-tuned approach which can often make Chekhov difficult for a western reader to understand; the plays are told with a bare-boned plot and revolve instead around the characters themselves and their expressions, finding meaning in the most modest of actions. For an audience that is unused to having to dig to find their truths, this can often be disconcerting.Bottom Line: Forget the new guy and seek out the old text (it has the woodcut cover).-NL

Another over-rated, boring playwright that elitist theatre-goers and college professors hold in high regard, simply to feel above "less refined" people. Chekhov was clearly a depressed failure of an individual. I analyzed his work with the best of them. I'm so glad I'm done with my useless theatre degree and never have to read this boring garbage ever again. Elitist professors use it as though there something to marvel at. I wrote a paper on another idiotic theatrical work, "The Goat," and explained exactly what it was about (societal norms and why we regard sex with animals as wrong). My professor said my paper was a work of genius. In reality, I was disgusted and depressed at the fact that THIS is what I was studying in college. This so-called "art" is not hard to figure out. It's just drudgery created by failed individuals with no happiness or success. Chekhov is just the same.