This book is a painless introduction to six famous Russian authors through their short stories. I previously thought Russian authors only wrote very long novels. This is a thoroughly entertaining collection of short stories that requires minimal investment of time. The following is a summary of the stories contained in the book.

THE SHOT by Alexander Pushkin - Completion of a duel is postponed so that it may be continued at a more propitious time.
THE OVERCOAT by Nikolai Gogol - The hilarious (but hauntingly tragic) tale of a lowly bureaucrat who suddenly finds himself in need of a new overcoat.
THE TRYST by Ivan Turganev - A first person narrative of a hunter who overhears two young people: one who loves and one who does not.
THE WEDDING by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - When a man is invited to a children's ball, he witnesses an amazing incident. Five years later, a posh wedding clarifies everything.
A PRISONER IN THE CAUCASUS by Leo Tolstoy - Tartar rebels take a Russian officer prisoner in order to collect a ransom. But the officer's one thought throughout his cruel ordeal is to escape.
AN UPHEAVAL by Anton Chekhov - A young governess accused of theft learns the identity of the real culprit. ( )