Hey r/books!
I recently finished Chekhov’s debut novel *The Moon* and was blown away. The prose is simple and spacious, but expresses so much complexity so compactly. David Bloom’s translation is brilliant; I don’t know a word of Russian, but nothing of his translation feels ‘translation.’ Owing to the fact that the book itself isn’t set in Russia (it’s set in France, and all of the characters are French), I found myself forgetting I was even reading a translation of a Russian work.
If you haven’t heard of *The Moon* before, please don’t spoil yourself! It’s best experienced blind, and has one of the most startling shifts in all fiction. But I will explain the plot the best I can without spoilers. Simply put: *The Moon* follows Alexandre, an impoverished student who believes he has discovered a peculiar affinity between himself and the moon. What this means is what so much of the book grapples with, so I’ll leave it at that. Just know that this book is thrilling, romantic, magical, and, if I may gander, completely un-Chekhovian. This debut novel is so much more intense, lyrical, unique, and phantasmagorical, than any of his later books or plays. And he wrote it at 20!
This wasn’t on my to-read list at all, so I’m completely gobsmacked that such a masterwork flew under my radar. Even internet queries turn up empty. Has no one read this? But, surely that can’t be the case: I found my copy at Barnes & Noble. It was front and center of a table of classics. I thought I’d continue my search with what leads I did have, because no combination of ‘The Moon by Anton Chekhov’ was Googlistically effective. Translator: David Bloom.
I looked David Bloom up and found a journalist who had died in 2003. Unfortunately, this was a dead lead: the translation was dated 2019. After a few more hours plugging in all the search terms I could think of, David Bloom remained elusive. It was 3 a.m. by this point; I really just needed to sleep. I tucked myself into bed and slept–is what I should be saying. But I couldn’t get *The Moon* out of my head: why couldn’t I find anything about this book online? Of course it exists; I read it! I got dressed and decided to drive myself over to the Barnes & Noble I bought my copy from.
But I didn’t. The moon’s surface gravity is about one-sixth Earth’s. I think I’ll…yes, that sounds good. I would love to go. I can’t wait to go in reverse. I can’t wait to moon or maybe the moon can’t wait to me. It’s as if of all the people I am the one.
Cheers,
Omniurge
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by boppitybob