Chekhov messages (1875-1904)

Author's name: Anton Chekhov Publisher: Al-Jamal Publications for Publishing and Distribution Year of publication: 2022 Literary classification: Epistolary literature Book overview: Chekhov - Letters 1875-1904 by Anton Chekhov ... each publisher of correspondence tends to become a biographer and defend their interests, disregarding the interests of others. Are we compelled here, to understand the intent of this book, to first seek to reveal its negative aspects? Should we prove that Baudelaire's correspondence lacks the diversity of George Sand's letters and their density, and that, unlike Saint-Beuve's letters, they are not the literary record of half a century, and that, unlike Saint-Beuve's letters, they are not a unique reference for understanding the poet's works, just as Balzac's letters about human comedy are? And that they do not document, like Mermet's correspondence, political and social news, and that they do not present, like Flaubert's letters about the era, humanity, and art, ideas worthy of an ethical writer? And that they do not possess the biting mystery characteristic of Stendhal's letters nor the wonderful contempt reflected in Fénelon's letters, nor the passionate delirium or astonishing indifference overflowing from Chateaubriand's letters? And that they do not give the satisfying image of the self, reflected in Victor Hugo's letters? The writer of the correspondence loves to write them, and isn't Baudelaire the one who describes himself as "not skilled" at writing them? And "a letter costs me more to write than a book," or he writes it in his imagination, which delays its completion. The pleasure of writing a letter stems from a clear conscience, nourished by the small vanity we feel to give awareness to an unexpected event for someone still unaware of it.