This book was part of my immersion in Chekhov's writing, which I elaborated on in my review of the Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Anton Chekhov ebook.

This was his longest work that tells the story of a retailer's daughter in a provincial Russian village who is stabbed to death in the woods during a hunting party, and the efforts to uncover her killer.

It's not what is considered a 'great' novel, nor even a great mystery story, though some have proclaimed it a landmark in the history of the crime story. Its uniqueness lies in its innovative structure which has prefigured numerous stories since, and, of course, in Chekhov's ability to bring any simple premise to engrossing, realistic life. A story that's recalled even as the gray matter shrinks in old age :-) [Somehow this book came to mind as I was pondering why I got up and headed for another room.] ( )

I have never felt a real passion for Russian literature, with it's typical cold descriptions of emotions, lots of characters (often with multiple complicated names), and the tendency to describe boring and unimportant matters in full detail. I am, of course, exaggerating, and there are exceptions (personally I am a fan of Dostoyevsky's work). But this book is not.

The real action only begins around three quarters into the book, and consists of a rather simple murder story. The announced 'surprising ending' is not as surprising as I had hoped, and is quite abrupt.

The main advantage of this book is that it is not too long, and probably a nice introduction to Tsjechov's larger works if you have a few hours of spare time. But you will have to struggle through the dull first 120 pages before things get interesting. ( )

Un editor recibe la visita de un ex juez que le ofrece un relato escrito por él mismo, sobre un hecho real, en el se cuenta la historia de una joven y bella mujer que ha sido encontrada agonizando en un bosque. El juez incrimina al marido de la mujer.
El editor según avanza en el relato llega a la conclusión de que se ha cometido un terrible error al condenar a un inocente ( )

http://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/recent-reads-the-shootin... ( )