Chekhov was capable of casually tossing off deplorable comments in his letters, combined with a very modern anger against anti-Semitism.

Chekhov understood that people are mysterious and can't be reduced to what we nowadays call 'motivation.'

One of the reasons why there are so many versions of Chekhov is that translations date in a way that the original doesn't; translations seem to be of their time.

Very often in Chekhov, where he exhibits a little bit of human behavior that you recognize as true, you give a little laugh. It's like a reflex.

Anti-Catholicism is the anti-Semitism of the intellectual.

I stand for anti-bigotry, anti-Semitism, and anti-racism.