The Shooting Party, by Anton Checkhov (BOOK REVIEW)

 

"It is difficult to understand the human soul, but it is still more difficult to understand one's own soul."

Olga, is a pretty young daughter of a drunken forester on a country estate, her fateful relationships with the men in her life cause scandal and confusion. She is adored by Urbenin, the estate manager, whom she ends up marrying to escape the poverty of her home. But she also becomes desired by the dissolute Count Karneyev and by Zinovyev, a magistrate, who knows the secret misery of her marriage. When an attempt is made on Olga's life in the woods, it seems impossible to discover the perpetrator in an impenetrable web of lust, deceit, loathing and double-dealing. 

“It's very hard, feeling that you're no more than a piece of unwanted furniture in this world.”

What the actual heck. I think this is the craziest, scariest, darkest and most disturbing book I have ever read. I'm still in actual shock. This book was written in 1884 and it messed with my mind in the year 2025.  The description of this book describes it as an experiment that the author, Checkhov, did with fiction. This book is proof that classic literature is just as relevant in the 20nth century as it was in the 1800s. I've never really read a physiological thriller before, and this book kept me up all night.

At first I really just couldn't get into it. It was slow, boring and it was just constantly talking about old men drinking and smoking. I was really discouraged. But one night I became determined to keep reading. As I read on, things got really interesting. Like, surprisingly interesting. I finished the entire three quarters I had left in one night. It was crazy.

The plot in this book is very odd. I definitely think that was done on purpose by Checkhov. But man oh man. I have never read anything like this. Every little detail was so peculiar. Because this book was so mysterious, I couldn't predict anything. I was literally in shock with all the plot twists. Well done, Checkhov, you got me. 

The writing style was interesting. I mean, you can definitely tell it was written in the 1800s. Like I said before, the first quarter was super slow and boring to me. I find that with classics, you definitely have to just slow yourself down with the pace of the book and take in every single word for what it is. Align yourself with the way the author intended you to read the book. This style of reading definitely helped me get through this book. 

The characters in this book were odd. They went right along with the theme. I didn't really feel the need to relate to them at all. I was perfectly content, just being a viewer of their story. 

A really cool thing about classics, like this one, is that every single little detail and loose end, ties in at the end. Everything is symbolic or points back to a Bible story. It's so cool to read something that was written with such care, precision and intention. Back then, authors really put their heart and soul into their work. And it shows. 

I give this book a 7 out of 10 and recommend it to ages 14+

PRESS HERE to purchase this book.

Happy Reading!

-Ariana :)