This is my first experience of Chekhov, who's often cited as one of the greatest short-story writers, and I have to confess that the jury's out for now. This little book contains three stories, translated by Ronald Wilks: the eponymous A Nervous Breakdown, The Black Monk and Anna Round the Neck, and they are all rather grim. In the first, the law student Vasilyev is driven into a state of distraction after spending an evening with his friends trawling the brothels of Moscow. Sensitive Vasilyev is distressed by the vulgarity of these working women and the way that his educated friends can happily flit between their high-minded studies and the exploitation of prostitutes. I'm not really sure what the point is, unless to suggest that too much reading and too little life has driven Vasilyev past the brink of reason...

The other two stories feel more successful. In The Black Monk, the overworked Kovrin seeks sanctuary with his childhood guardian Pesotsky and Pesotsky's daughter Tanya in the country. His erratic mental state finds expression in visions of a black monk, whose flattering addresses lead Kovrin to an exaggerated notion of his own importance. Moving from exuberant affection to cold disdain, his sense of his own brilliance leads him into a tragic sequence of events. And, finally, Anna Round the Neck sees the titular Anna married off to a rich but old and ugly Modeste Alekseyevich. Having given up her freedom in the hope of gaining financial security for her impoverished family, Anna is distressed to realise that her husband means to keep a tight rein on the purse-strings. But, when she becomes something of a social sensation, Anna's principles are quite to disappear as she savours the thrill of high-society living.

I have another collection of Chekhov's short stories (Gooseberries) waiting to be read, which will feature in a future Bite-Sized Russians post, but at the moment I'm not exactly bowled over. The stories don't have the power of The Queen of Spades or the nonsensical wit of The Nose. However, I'm sure that it's just a case of waiting until I find the right one, and then I'll be swept off my feet. ( )