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Ivanov

I was young, full of fire, sincere, no fool; I loved, I hated and I believed, but not like other men, I worked and I had hopes for ten, I tilted at windmills and beat my head against walls.... And tell me: could it have been otherwise? There are so few of us, and so much, so much to do! God, how much to do! And now the life against which I struggled is taking this cruel vengeance on me! I've worn myself out! ... Before you stands a man of thirty-five, disillusioned and crushed by his worthless achievements....

Boy, that kinda hits close to home.
***1/2

The Seagull

Unrequited love truly is the universal human condition.

***1/2

Uncle Vanya

Man, Chekhov just gets me, you know?

****

Three Sisters

Oh man, I wanted to punch Natasha in the face SO HARD.

****

The Cherry Orchard

I, too, like to solve problems by ignoring them until they "solve" themselves. Like I said, Chekhov gets me.

****

So I noticed that a great many GR reviewers have complained that these sucked because (1) it's hard to read plays (in which case, why are you trying to read a play in the first place?); or (2) nothing happens in them. But I don't know, a lot more happens in these plays than my actual life and I don't think anyone would complain about what a sucky life I'm living, you know? And that's the thing about Chekhov I guess you should know before you pick him up; if you want melodrama, go somewhere else.