Showing results by narrator "Dave Courvoisier" in All Categories

As two friends are sharing stories together, the story of the man in the box comes up. The man in the box, Byelikov, was an eccentric professor who often made his coworkers feel uneasy. One day, Byelikov finds himself enamored with the sister of a new teacher at the school, Kovalenko. The prospect of a relationship between Byelikov and the sister, Varinka, excited his colleagues as they thought it might help to make him more normal and approachable. However, when someone takes it upon himself to draw a humorous caricature of the couple, things fall apart.

Despite its guise as a space pirate, the Dread Remora is still a ship of Her Majesty's Royal Navy, so when Captain Nate Demming and his crew discover a brutally savaged ship, they are appalled. When a second ship appears and attacks, Demming assumes these must be the predators and retaliates. The events that unfold lead to new discoveries for the Dread Remora, including some potential allies - and a ferocious new enemy.

Here is a tapestry of stories about the complex and unique relationship that exists between brothers. In this book, some of our finest authors take an unvarnished look at how brothers admire and admonish, revere and revile, connect and compete, love and war with each other. With hearts and minds wide open, and, in some cases, with laugh-out-loud humor, the writers tackle a topic that is as old as the Bible and yet has been, heretofore, overlooked.

Semyon and a young man, along with three other ferrymen, live out their days on a desolate riverbank in Siberia, after being exiled from their countries for various crimes. Their environment is freezing cold and barren, providing nothing about which to be happy. However, Semyon seems content with his life, arguing that if he wants nothing he will never be disappointed.

The story is set on a Russian ship which is filled with ill and injured soldiers heading home after a trip to the Far East, as it follows two very different passengers aboard. One is very ill and delirious and can only envision his life on his family's farm, and is also consumed with the concern for the well-being of his family. The other is stubborn, rude and in denial of his current illness.

Late one evening, tragedy strikes when the town doctor, Kirilov, is unable to save his dying son from diphtheria. As he and his wife mourn their only son's death, a stranger, Abogin, arrives at the doctor’s home, begging him to come save his dying wife. The doctor, who is still shocked from his son's death of five minutes ago, declines Abogin's pleas. However, Abogin refuses to give up, trying desperately to save his wife.

Rashevitch was enjoying Meier's company, providing him with a body to talk at. Rashevitch would go on and on about his beliefs and ideas, and found himself thinking that Meier might be a good match for one of his daughters to marry. As he continues to prattle on about social Darwinism, he develops this idea further and further in his mind, His daughters join the two men for dinner and Rashevitch takes his social critiques a step too far for Meier.

As Maxim and Lizaveta, a young married couple, drive home from church on Easter, Maxim finds the joy and beauty in everything. As the newly married couple drives home on their first Easter together, carrying a blessed Easter cake, they see a Cossack at the side of the road. They soon learn that he is sick and too weak to make it home, and he asks for some food if they have any. Maxim immediately wants to share the Easter cake with him; however, his wife refuses to allow this, ripping the cake away from her husband.

Pavel Vassilyevitch finds himself meeting with an unwanted visitor one day after lunch, an odd woman beseeching him to give him just a half hour of his time. Madam Murashkin wants Pavel to critique a play that she has written before she sets off on a voyage, and insists it will take only a half hour of his time. Unable to deny her relentless pitiful pleas, Pavel gives in and Madam Murashkin launches into her play - which turns out to take much longer than half an hour to get through.

Nikolay is tired of his dull life working at a railway station and his loveless marriage. When he accidentally breaks a champagne bottle on New Year’ s Eve, his wife is convinced that it is an omen of bad luck to come. Nikolay, already dissatisfied with his life, thinks his wife is overreacting. His feels that not much more could go wrong in his life. Then, in the brink of his despair, a young and beautiful visitor, his wife’s aunt, arrives unexpectedly.

Natalya was once a happy and radiant young woman. Now an older woman, she reflects about her youth. In particular, she thinks about the heavy emphasis she put on her wealth and the relationships and experiences that it cost her. One man, Pyotr, loved her, but they both let their different statuses in society prevent their love from having a chance. After years of unhappiness and regret, Pyotr comes to visit Natalya.

About Love is the musings of several friends about love and the great mystery surrounding it. After trying to figure out the love existing between an abusive, ugly cook and the lovely girl that doted on him, one of the men, Alehin, begins sharing his story of love and heartbreak. He recounts the tale of his love for the beautiful Anna Alexyevna, a young woman married to his friend. Alehin describes the way in which their relationship developed, returning again and again to the strange mysteries of love.

When several employees of the bank are arrested for corruption, the merchant Avdeyev doesn't give the ordeal much thought, figuring the men going to jail deserve it. His opinion changes however when he returns home to find his wife and son very upset - his house had just been searched by officials in connection to the bank corruption. Avdeyev had signed papers for the bankers without knowing what they were and so had essentially signed his life away by his carelessness.

When Stepan Ivanovitch Kutsyn, the mayor of a town, learns that a Persian magnate is visiting, he instantly becomes intrigued. The mayor had already received various medals and badges, such as the badge of the Red Cross and the badge of the Society of Saving from Drowning. He also had made an impressive looking badge for himself to add to his jacket. The presence of the Persian magnate, Rahat-Helam, created the possibility that the mayor could receive the order of the Lion and the Sun, without having to perform any of the services generally required to receive such an honor.

On an early October morning, Psyekoff, the right hand-man to Lieutenant Marcus Ivanovitch Klausoff, informs the inspector of police that he suspects Klausoff has been murdered. Immediately, the inspector and his team head to Klausoff’s home to investigate the matter. After examining the outside of the house, the inspector sends word to the magistrate, asking him to come investigate the case. When the magistrate and his assistant arrive, they check Klausoff’s room, only to find that he is not in there.

Ivan Lyashkevsky, a Polish lieutenant who suffered a head injury, spends a large amount of time grumbling about the native people of the town he's living in. He thinks them to be lazy and useless and is quick to express his views. On this particular day, he is visiting with his friend Franz Finks and studying his native landlord out the window. Lyashkevsky grows more and more angry with the natives as he discusses their flaws with Finks throughout the entire day, and simple Finks takes all his complaints in stride.

A tragic father, Old Musatov, finds himself lucky to have very dedicated children. Musatov is a drunkard and is constantly seeking out money from his sons, which they routinely give to him over and over again. Musatov is drunkenly relating the pride and appreciation he feels for all of his sons to one of his sons, Boris, while also admitting his own flaws.

Three men, Mihailo the porter, Nikandr the fish merchant, and Stepan the coachman, sit around a table in the coach-house playing a game of "kings" with Stepan's eight-year old grandson, Alyoshka. While each card player competitively tries to win the coveted position of "king" in the game, a more serious atmosphere casts a sad shadow over the estate in which the coach-house is situated. The man of the house, for whom the porter and coachman work, has attempted suicide, and he lies in the estate house struggling somewhere between life and death.

After Nadya, a 16 year old girl, returns home from seeing a play, she is happily consumed with its plot of unrequited love. To Nadya, unrequited love is the most interesting type of love, as love is boring if everyone is happy. Quickly, Nadya's thoughts turn to her two suitors, Gorny and Guzdev. Although they have both declared their love for her, she, more than anything, wants to believe that they do not love her. Trying to emulate the unrequited love from the play, she writes a letter to Gorny, like the heroine in the play....

A young peasant finds himself confronting a doctor at a hospital with the hopes of convincing him to release his brother. The doctor is not pleased and refuses to release him saying the peasant needs to go to the authorities. He is disappointed by his statement and unsure of where to go. On his way out he comes to meet an old man just outside the hospital gate. He reveals his problem to him and the old man directs him exactly where he needs to head. The peasant is conflicted because it is a long journey....