I enjoyed the introduction by Mr. Wolff because it gave me a better appreciation for this collection of short stories. Many of them seemed to me rather bleak - not necessarily depressing, but realistic about the foibles of human nature. And yet there were some stories that seemed to transcend that bleakness and rise to the fleeting sublime. Overall, I really appreciated the way that Mr. Chekhov was able to paint such vivid scenes in such brief passages. ( )