At Christmas Time - Anton Chekhov

Rating: ★★★★
28/12/13

I HATED THIS STORY. It's well-written, of course; it's Chekhov. But the story itself is awful. But that doesn't make it bad, so, I liked it. You know what I mean... I hope, because I don't know how to explain it properly.

This short story is about an old couple struggling with life and an unstable economy, and they have this daughter that they haven't seen in a long time. First, I disliked the daughter, because I thought she didn't care about her parents and instead, she dedicated her entire life to her new family, forgetting where she came from. But as I kept reading... I understood what was going on. There's plenty to analyze and talk about in here.

This is another unsettling Christmas tale about hopelessness, fear, abandonment, loneliness. Not a cheery stuff to read now, sure, but still I think it's important to read it since it reminds us what we have (and really matters) and maybe, that makes us feel more grateful and less whiny about moronic little details.