To illuminate the mysterious greatness of Anton Chekhovโs writings, Janet Malcolm takes on three roles: literary critic, biographer, and journalist. Her close readings of the stories and plays are interwoven with episodes from Chekhovโs life and framed by an account of Malcolmโs journey to St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Yalta. She writes of Chekhovโs childhood, his relationships, his travels, his early success, and his self-imposed โexileโโalways with an eye to connecting them to themes and characters in his work. Lovers of Chekhov as well as those new to his work will be transfixed by Reading Chekhov.