About Chekov

In About Chekhov Ivan Bunin sought to free the writer from limiting political, social, and aesthetic assessments of his life and work, and to present both in a more genuine, insightful, and personal way. Editor and translator Thomas Gaiton Marullo subtitles About Chekhov "The Unfinished Symphony," because although Bunin did not complete the work before his death in 1953, he nonetheless fashioned his memoir as a moving orchestral work on the writers' existence and art. . . . "Even in its unfinished state, About Chekhov stands not only as a stirring testament of one writer's respect and affection for another, but also as a living memorial to two highly creative artists." Bunin draws on his intimate knowledge of Chekhov to depict the writer at work, in love, and in relation with such writers as Tolstoy and Gorky. Through anecdotes and observations, spirited exchanges and reflections, this memoir draws a unique portrait that plumbs the depths and complexities of two of Russia's greatest writers.

Ivan Bunin (1880-1953), a poet and writer of short fiction, won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1933. Three of his works, Night of Denial (2006), The Liberation of Tolstoy: A Tale of Two Writers (2001, 1055 cloth copies sold), and The Life of Arseniev (1994, 846 paper copies sold) are published by Northwestern University Press.

Thomas Gaiton Marullo is director of the Program in Russian and East European Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of If You See the Buddha: Studies in the Fiction of Ivan Bunin (Northwestern, 1998), and the editor and translator of Ivan Bunin: Twilight of Emigre Russia 1934-1953 (Ivan R. Dee, 2002), The Liberation of Tolstoy: A Tale of Two Writers (Northwestern, 2001), Cursed Days (Ivan R. Dee, 1998), Ivan Bunin: From the Other Shore (Ivan R. Dee, 1995), and Ivan Bunin: Russian Requiem 1885-1920 (Ivan R. Dee, 1993).