(Originally posted at https://reallifereading.com/2016/06/09/tlc-book-tours-the-summer-guest-by-alison...
Don’t you love it when a book just completely takes you by surprise, just wows you and leaves you sitting there, unable to stop thinking about what you read?

All I knew heading into The Summer Guest was that it was by Alison Anderson, who translated Muriel Barbary’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog which is such a fantastic book that I hope you have read (or will now go and read!).

Its synopsis begins:

What if Anton Chekhov, undisputed master of the short story, secretly wrote a novel—a manuscript hidden long ago that might have survived?

And that may have plenty of people going ooh. And… here is where I admit to you that I have not read Chekhov’s stories. This probably will appall some of you. You’re wondering, what business do I have reading this book?

antonchekhovBut here’s the thing, it’s not all that important to have read Chekhov’s work to enjoy The Summer Guest. Sure, you may have a better understanding of things but it’s ok. I still really liked reading the book anyway. And it has also made me want to read Chekhov now, whom, you have to admit is quite a dashing man.

The Summer Guest unfolds from three different perspectives.

We have the diary, a newly uncovered diary from the 19th century, written in Russian by Zinaida Mikhailovna, a young woman trained as a doctor but recently blinded by an illness. She keeps the journal to fill her hours, now that she is unable to work. Anton Chekhov and his family rent the guesthouse on her family’s country estate and they become friendly.

Then we have Katya Kendall who runs a small publishing company with her husband Peter in London in 2014. Their business isn’t doing well so they hope that this diary by Zinaida Mikhailovna will help get them back on their feet. Their marriage isn’t doing very well either.

Ana Harding is a translator who lives in France, and who once worked with Katya’s company. Her Russian “was perfectly adequate, but she didn’t go looking for translations from Russian; they found her.” She takes on the project, as she had no reason to refuse, a job is a job, she needs the money. But she soon “befriended the diarist in that odd way translators sometimes have, if they are lucky, of knowing their authors through a text, of inhabiting their identity and seeing through their eyes”.

Anderson, as a translator herself as well as a novelist herself, fully understands the difficulty of being one.

“She had had enough of being invisible, of slipping inconspicuously behind the more glamorous author whose photograph beckoned from the back cover of a book they had both written. As translator, she mused, she was no more than the lining of the dust jacket. This substance she craved – beyond meaningful texts, beyond creativity – should lead to an identity.”

There are long excerpts from the diary, observations about country life, conversations between Anton and Zinaida, Zinaida’s reminisces about her life. But there is also talk about alcoholism, consumption and other problems of 19th century Russia. And of course, the sad fact that Zinaida, the young and intelligent Zinaida, is wasting away from her illness.

In the bed I inhabited a warm, safe place. The sound of my breathing lulled me into memory: childhood. Papa, before. With us still. Outings to the islands on the river. Games in the field. Snowdrifts against the house where we hid. Sleigh rides. The thaw, Easter. The kulich and paskha and brightly colored eggs: the days of feasting and dancing. The priest blessing the house. The visitors, telling us how we’d grown.

The Summer Guest is a quiet novel. It is gentle and feels like it should be read sitting on a riverbank, under the shade of a willow tree, with some cold lemonade swigged from a bottle and strawberry sandwiches wrapped in brown paper. But gentle does not mean easy or simple. It has such beautiful, elegant prose, a well-constructed plot, complex characters and an ending that made me sit up and rethink the whole story. It may not be a book that you race through, but it is a book that stays with you, that makes you consider the importance of translators. And now I am so completely intrigued by Anton Chekhov, who, as Alison Anderson writes in a blog post:

“Chekhov had a very interesting love life, but one which could only be supported by speculation and conjecture, since many of the more explicit letters he wrote were destroyed either by his sister Masha in her task as guardian of his literary estate, or by Soviet academics.”



Juicy… ( )

I began reading The Summer Guest with very little knowledge of Anton Chekhov. Ivanov was assigned reading in college, so I knew that he was a celebrated playwright and story story author. That, however, was the extent to which I was aware of Chekhov's background. I'll admit, that's one of the reasons why I accepted this book for review. I'm always fascinated by historical fiction that adapts the lives of artistic people. That line between fact and fiction blurs beautifully, and I hoped that Alison Anderson would introduce me to a Chekov that was both his real self, and perhaps a bit more.

There are three narrators who lead us through this glimpse into Chekov's life, and each of them was pleasingly different. While multiple points of view aren't always my favorite means of conveying a story, in this case it was a perfect fit. Zinaida's journal entries wove together the rich landscape of the Ukranian countryside, with her thoughts on the very jovial playwright staying on her estate. Katya's story complimented this expertly, as a way of showing Chekov's ideals brought to life. Even Ana's story was an important piece of the puzzle. Her passion for translation, coupled with the fact that this very journal was what pushed her to follow her dream, gave this story balance and depth.

In fact, it's hard not to feel a kinship to these three women, as Chekov's story affects them all in different ways. I especially enjoyed Zinaida's point of view, which is happily one of the main portions of this book. Watching the world come to life through her character, was humbling. Since Zinaida is blind, there are many discussions of the importance of stillness, of listening, of using senses other than sight. A vast amount of the lushness of this novel stems from Zinaida's outlook, and her more intimate discussions with Chekov. I was smitten, and I couldn't help but be caught up in all three of the stories being told as they slowly folded together.

This is a wholly impressive story. I am not, in general, much of a reader of historical fiction. It takes a very well written, and intriguing, story to catch my attention and keep me reading. The Summer Guest accomplished that quite handily. If you're looking for a summer read, I'd recommend this without a second thought. ( )

Anton Chekhov was what led me to read this book, since I really like his stories and plays. "The Bishop" is my favorite story. This is not so much HIS story, as that of three women and how he has touched their lives. The first is Zinaida Mikhailovna, one daughter of a gentry family, at whose dacha the author and his family stayed for two summers--1888 and 1889. This fact is historically true; we know this from Chekhov's own letters. The second is Katya Kendall; she and her husband run a small publishing company in England. The business is failing and with the English translation of Zinaida's diary, they hope to recover their fortunes. The third is Ana, a translator, hired to render the work into English. She hopes the translation will bring her fame and also, she searches for a "lost" novel Chekhov is supposed to have been working on. Zinaida gives tantalizing references to it in her diary. The novel skips from woman to woman and we get each of their stories. Zinaida is suffering from an illness that will probably kill her in the end and we see how stoically she bears it. The novel traces her friendship with Chekhov through the diary. A trip to Ukraine by Ana to trace Chekhov's footsteps those fateful summers and possibly find out more brings the novel to a shattering conclusion.

The novel was so beautifully and sometimes lyrically written, I was immersed in the world of 19th century Russian life. Zinaida came alive, as did Chekhov. The novel explored the scope and power of imagination and of friendship.

Highly recommended. ( )

For two years in spring and summer of the year 1888, two families meet at the Luka estate in Ukraine, Russia. Alison Anderson writes about those years in "The Summer Guest." There the Lintvaryova family will meet the Pavlovich family. One member of the Pavlovich family will become a very famous author named Anton Chekov. When we meet him at Luka, he is a Doctor of Medicine as well as a writer. He will spend unforgettable times with Zinaida Mikhailovna.

Zinaida M. is blind, suffers severe headaches and also seizures. However, she is always available for conversations with her family, friends and especially Anton Pavlovich. At this time, her most loved possession is her notebook. This diary will become the focus of a publisher named Katya and her husband, Peter, and a translator named Ana in the Twenty-First Century.

There are many delightful and meaningful aspects of this novel. One is the difference between the West and Russia. According to Alison Anderson, there is a philosophical side to Russians. Therefore, the conversations between these two and others at the guest house can become very heavy and thoughtful. For example, there are thoughts about death, the afterlife and why serious illnesses enter our lives and whom should a person love in marriage and how passionate should that person feel about their chosen vocation. Anton Pavlovich talks about time. He is aware that time is not infinite. To use the gift of time well, should he spend most of it healing other people or writing a novel.

When thinking of the title, I did have a hard time dealing with "The Summer Guest." I expected to read more about Anton Pavlovich and his family and friends rather than Zinaida Mikhailovna. This, of course, is due to his fame as a Russian author. He is the writer of "The Cherry Orchard" and "The Sea Gull" and other plays and short stories. However, Alison Anderson's focus seems to lean more on the importance of a woman's struggles during a five year illness.

This woman's life is given great significance by Alison Anderson. I caught on to her respect for this woman like a fish would to a worm. I will remember Zinaida's thoughtful conversations and her contributions to the family and her desire to leave the diary as a legacy to her niece. My point is why not give the title of the book to Zinaida M. rather than to the author, Anton Chekov, or perhaps, a title including both of these wonderful Russian people. As it stands now, the title is a bit misleading.

Yes, the author puts much in perspective about Anton Pavlovich near the end of the novel. This part of the Russian novel is very real and important too. I also would like to applaud the author for writing so much about the invisible life of a book translator.. I do not think these men and women get enough recognition. It came down to worrying whether Ana would receive all of her pay. This made me question the character of Katya and Peter. Were they truly honest as publishers while dealing with Russian Literature?

I have to write Zinaida M. does come across as a wonderful person. I can see her walking with one hand on the shoulder of someone else while carrying a baby on her hip. I can see her touching every part of Anton P's face in order to remember him, and I can see her sharing talks with her sister, Elena and their mother. Seeing this lady's handwriting in a notebook would have thrilled me beyond words.

As for Anton P., I will always see him walking from his bedroom through his brother's bedroom. His brother died early of consumption. I wonder did he think of his brother each time he passed through that bedroom. Anton P. seems like such a sensitive man. I'm sure he could hear again his brother coughing or his difficulty while trying to talk. Love, life, death, nature it is all here in "The Summer Guest" by Alison Anderson. ( )

The Summer Guest is a novel about the two summer Anton Chekhov spends in a summer home in Eastern Ukraine. He develops a friendship with the eldest daughter Zinaida Lintvaryova of the summer hosts. They are both physicians and writers, so they have many common interests. Zinaida is going blind and their relationship is limited to the times they can be together. He becomes her confident and Chekhov confesses to her that he is wants to write a novel.
Two complicated contemporary women become involved in this mystery of a lost work that may or not have been written.
I enjoyed the realistic presentation of Zinaida , her progression of blindness, and what that would have meant to a young professional who was very engaged in her medical practice and writing. I felt her helplessness as she falls in love with Chekhov, but realizes it is limited to the days they spend together now and has no future.
A century later Katya Kendall discovers a diary written by Zinaida during this summer and sees it as a chance to save her struggling London publishing house. Ana Harding, the translator that Katya hires, becomes very involved in the mysterious diary and possible novel of Chekhov wrote or did not write.
I liked the ending which I will not reveal.
The mingling of the characters from the past and present made it an excellent read with a twist of mystery that remained until the last pages.
I highly recommend this book for all readers. ( )