The Chekhovian moment

Author Daniyal Mueenuddin on Anton Chekhov,his biggest literary influence
As a writer nothing has influenced me more than the Chekhov stories. I read them often,I breathe Chekhov. When I read his work,there are aspects of his characters that shine through; I am filled with respect at how natural his stories are,how completely organic they appear to be. As a writer,I can only hope to have his sensibility,morality and compassion. When you read a Chekhov story,the writing is effortless,and if you read all his work,chronologically,you will see how he grew into being one of the greatest writers of all time.

There’s a story behind how I managed to read all his work: I was working with a big law firm in New York and the day I decided that I wanted to quit the job,at least in my head,I sat with my back to the window in a way that nobody could watch my computer screen. I found a site that has all of Chekhov’s 301 short stories,chronologically arranged and over the next six months,till the time I finally left the job,I would sit and read those stories through the day. And I even got some work done!

My stories,I like to think of them as lapidary. But I love the texture of a Chekhovian story,it is loose and comfortable,much like a landscape painting. The way he evokes nature,he and Tolstoy both had this gift of imagery and blending in their natural surroundings. But most of all,Chekhov as a craftsman and a storyteller,he’s the most empathetic of all writers. Only if you are fully empathetic can you enter the soul of a character unlike you. Even if the character is evil,you have to respect their humanity as well. Chekhov does that brilliantly.