SHORT STORY SERIES - A Blunder by Anton Chekhov

My reading desire has been like the crypto market. Sometimes, I am all in and want to read as voraciously as I used to, sometimes I don't even feel like opening anything. In my new workplace, we usually get recommended a book we have to read, and then we have to come back and present the book and how we can apply the book to our organization. It's usually a business book, but hey, it's always a great book still. And maybe I need to read more business and economics books. Recently, I haven't had the slightest motivation to write or share anything. It has been a shit show. I will continue to try to come out of the rut. I don't think Anton Chekhov needs any more introduction. He is a supreme short story writer and playwright.

Anton tells an interesting story of a boy (a teacher) and a girl who were in the same room together, flirting. While the girl's parents were outside, eavesdropping on the conversation, with the sole intention of binding the two together with an Ikon; a sacred and symbolic object that binds the boy to the girl for marriage. While the parents were bidding their time, and waiting for the perfect moment, the opportunity presented itself, and the two of them barged in, but alas, in the rush of the situation, the mother had picked up something else.

This was supposed to be anything but humorous, but I found it actually funny. At least the ending, haha. Imagine trying to bind your daughter to marriage, which could be for many reasons, only to pick up the portrait of some random author as opposed to the bidding object. Wow. Chekhov left the reader wondering, which is something I always enjoy in any story. One could make different assumptions and it would sound credible. Some themes that were evident were those of aspirations, desperation, tradition, etc. You don't have to be a soothsayer to know that the parents were fairly desperate to get their daughter engaged. Who knows why, lol. It's a decent story. Would take less than five minutes to read, so there is that. I would rate it a 2.7 out of 5. Not so much recommend it though. There are other great short reads.