Stories by M. Gorky

Maxim Gorky, Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, 1868-1936 - an outstanding Russian writer and playwright. He was born in Nizhny Novgorod into a family of a carpenter. Orphaned at a young age, the boy spent his childhood years with his grandfather. Little... Alexei found life difficult; from the age of 8, he had to earn a living: he worked as a shop boy, a buffet dishwasher on a steamboat, a baker, and studied in an icon-painting workshop. Gorky later wrote about his harsh upbringing in his novella Childhood 1913-1914. Gorky studied for only two years at the Nizhny Novgorod School, and he devoted his whole life to self-education. His attempts to enroll in Kazan University in 1884 were unsuccessful, but there he met members of a Marxist circle and became involved in propaganda activities. Maxim Gorky's first story, Makara Chudra, was published in 1892. Just six years later, Sketches and Stories were released, which brought him literary fame. This was followed by the novel Three, the plays The Lower Depths and The Fussy. Gorky never forgot his difficult childhood; he organized celebrations for children from poor families, published a children's magazine, and, of course, wrote fairy tales for children: The Sparrow, The Samovar, Tales about Italy, and others. The story Shock tells about one day in the life of a boy working in an icon-painting workshop. Every day for Misha - hurry, turn around, or he will receive kicks and slaps from the masters. The only solace for the boy is the memory of the circus performance; even in his dreams, he sees the performance of his favorite clown. Lёnka from the story Grandfather Arkhip and Lёnka has also experienced considerable grief in his short life. Without a place of his own and means of subsistence, they live on charity. Lёnka is ashamed of this, as well as of his grandfather, who would steal for him. The injustice of what is happening deeply outraged the writer, forcing him to return time and again to the theme of the meaning of human existence.