A post on Languagehat is drawing attention to Maxim Gorky’s *Reminiscences of Tolstoy, Chekhov and Andreyev*, focusing on a recent *London Review of Books* essay by Adam Thirlwell. The essay, dated 25 June 2026, reviews a new translation by Bryan Karetnyk and appears to have renewed interest in Gorky’s literary portraits of three major Russian writers.
From the brief description available, the appeal of the review lies partly in how strongly it opens, with the Languagehat note describing the beginning as irresistible. Even from that short reference, the piece suggests that Thirlwell’s essay approaches Gorky not simply as a memoirist, but as a writer whose recollections still feel vivid and worth revisiting in translation.
The book itself brings together Gorky’s reflections on Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Leonid Andreyev, making it notable for readers interested in Russian literature, literary history and writer-on-writer nonfiction. A fresh translation by Karetnyk also gives the volume added relevance, especially for readers looking for modern English versions of classic literary texts.
Although only a trimmed snippet is available, the coverage points to a broader literary conversation around how Gorky remembered his contemporaries and how those memories are being presented to new readers today. For anyone following book criticism, Russian letters or new translations of classic works, the essay and the book appear to be attracting timely attention.
