They say that there are no rules without exception, and any exception only confirms the rule. Maybe it is. However, this statement, apparently, has nothing to do with the genius of the Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov and bypasses the tenth side of himself, and his famous postulate: "Brevity is the sister of talent." In his short short stories, in all, without exception, Chekhov sparks, vividly and accurately conveys to the reader what some cannot even express in three hundred pages. And the humorous book “The Complaint Book” (a brief summary follows) is another vivid confirmation of this ...
A bit of history
It was the 1884th. What marked this year? A lot has happened, but we are interested in only one event, at first glance, insignificant. This is the next issue of the Shards. "Why?" - you ask. Yes, because the humorous story “The Complaint Book” finds its shelter in it - another test of the pen of a novice writer, a doctor by profession Anton Chekhov. At that far time, he wrote many stories, feuilleton, humoresque under the pseudonym Antos Chekhonte. And he was reproached for this more than once, urged not to waste his talent, to “starve” a little, in order to later give out something more meaningful and deep from the accumulated impressions. This is not to say that Chekhov did not listen to these tips and wishes. He accepted them, but at the same time he could not help but give out, by his own admission, a story a day.
Simple and at the same time with some unusual, one might say jewelry, humor, they were his first steps, steps in the world of great literature, and at the same time without which it is impossible to imagine Anton Pavlovich Chekhov himself. Now 130 years have passed, and we remember, and continue to read out his first miniatures. For example, “The Complaint Book”, we read the summary and find in it ...
Features
The plot as such in Chekhov's story “The Complaint Book” (a brief summary will be described later) is not. Amazing right? Yes, he is absent. So, contrary to the laws of the genre and the written rules of literature. But that does not spoil him. On the contrary, it is this feature that conveys to the reader the main essence in the best way. What is it, this main essence, is? And then what is the Complaint Book? The summary will surely tell. So, we read ...
A. P. Chekhov, The Complaint Book: Summary
Literally, the Complaint Book is a kind of document. It is stored in a special desk at one railway station. The key relies on the desk, because there’s no one, and the document requires a proper attitude. In fact, there is no key, and it is not needed at all, because the desk is always open: come in, if you want, open and read ...
Figuratively speaking, “The Complaint Book” is the main character of the work. Her house is always full of guests - the most diverse. It is impossible to imagine that all these people could ever meet in any other place: the telegraph operator Kozmodemyansky, Deacon of the Spirits, a student of the 7th grade of the Kursk Gymnasium Aleksey Zudyev, clerk Samolashchev and just a cheerful cheerleader.
Some come in to complain about the rudeness of the conductor and the brutality of the gendarme. Others - to the wind, its harshness and audacity with which he dared to fly past the station and rip off his hat. There were people who were nameless, but kind, with declarations of love for a certain Katya, and there were also those who blundered, nodded and denounced: Nikandrov, for example, is a socialist, and Teltsovsky is a cheater, and the gendarme’s wife did adultery yesterday — she went with "Barman Kostka" across the river. The latter, of course, also preferred to remain incognito and did not sign. What motivated them? Indeed, for sure, these denunciations will never be outside the "book". But, apparently, such a meager opportunity to say something publicly gives pleasure to such people.
Conclusion
The jokers ran in, bringing either primitive rhymes or sometimes funny answers to previous remarks. In general, they write that it will come to a head - the paper will endure everything, and the heroine - “The Complaint Book” - of course, forgive. You can make grammatical mistakes, cross out what you don’t like, and don’t think about the content and meaning of your words ... That’s the whole story, and the whole story “Complaint Book”. The summary is good, but it is better to open the text itself and admire the amazing syllable of the eternal Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.