Book excerpt: New Reformatted Edition A compilation of classic short stories by 5 great Russian writers: Anton Chekhov, Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Ivan Turgenev. Though not necessarily representative of the authors’ complete works, the stories have been carefully chosen to showcase their versatility and skill as storytellers. The collection covers an extraordinary range of themes, styles and settings, allowing the reader to get a glimpse of another world gone by. Even though these stories seem timeless, the characters in them show the same foibles, fears and hopes as people in the brave new world of the 21st century.