Celebrity Chekhov: Stories by Anton Chekhov

by Ben Greenman

Overview

New Yorker editor and McSweeney's contributor Ben Greenman reshapes Russian literature's most celebrated stories around America's most popular pop culture icons, probing the deep complexities of Anton Chekov (not to mention those of Cruise or Kardashian). Thought-provoking and funny, these wryly re-imagined tales will be sure-fire favorites for every kind of reader, whether your favorite escapes are celebrity memoirs like L.A. Candy and The Truth about Diamonds, re-conceived classics like Wicked, literary parodies like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, or masterpieces of fiction from authors like Tolstoy, Pushkin and Chekhov himself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061990496
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/05/2010
Series:	P.S. Series
Pages:	205
Product dimensions:	6.96(w) x 11.28(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

Ben Greenman is an editor at The New Yorker. He is the author of the story collections What He's Poised to Do; Superbad; and A Circle Is a Balloon and Compass Both: Stories About Human Love, and the novels Superworse and Please Step Back. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.

Editorial Reviews

A high-concept experiment in surreal comedy, that’s also an act of devotion regarding the persistent power of literature.” — L Magazine

“Nothing short of brilliant. . . . you can plant it proudly on your bookshelf.” — Daily Candy

“Ben Greenman’s Celebrity Chekhov might be the first literary mashup that actually adds to our understanding of the original work.” — The Very Short List

From the Publisher

Nothing short of brilliant. . . . you can plant it proudly on your bookshelf.

Daily Candy

Ben Greenman’s Celebrity Chekhov might be the first literary mashup that actually adds to our understanding of the original work.

The Very Short List

A high-concept experiment in surreal comedy, that’s also an act of devotion regarding the persistent power of literature.

L Magazine

The stories of Anton Chekhov are hijacked by American celebrities in New Yorker editor Greenman's latest (What He's Poised to Do, 2010, etc.).

The author makes a modest proposal in this thinly conceptualized literary mash-up. "Chekhov drew his characters from all levels of Russian society in his time: peasants, aristocrats, intense young clerks, disappointed wives," he writes. "Today, in America, we have a simple way of identifying these flawed specimens of humanity ruled by ego and insecurity. They are called 'celebrities.' " To illustrate his point, Greenman proceeds to "adapt and celebritize" (his phrase) some of the Russian author's short stories by poisoning them with celebrities. "A Transgression" puts David Letterman at the mercy of his blackmailer before a run-in with Steve Martin pulls his fat out of the fire. "Bad Weather" features Tiger Woods: "And Tiger Woods, holding his knee as though it were aching, glanced stealthily at his wife and mother-in-law to see the effect of his lie, or as he called it, diplomacy." Among other targets: Paris Hilton, the Kardashian sisters, Sarah Palin and Lindsay Lohan, appearing in "A Classical Student," which ends with a garish sexual encounter between the starlet and Jesse James. More disturbing is the jarring disconnect between Chekhov's language, which survives partially intact, and the penetrative insertions of celebrities who are referred to by their full names ("My dear Brad Pitt! What fate has brought you?" etc.). There are a few moments of keen insight—Eminem is used to good effect in the Poe-esque "Hush," while comedian Artie Lange haunts "In the Graveyard." But the whole thing still reads like a McSweeney's dispatch that got out of hand.

A derivative, exploitative literary stunt.

Kirkus Reviews