To A Distant Island

In 1890, Anton Chekhov, already a prominent Russian literary figure, traveled 6,500 miles to Sakhalin island, off the coast of Siberia. Willing visitors to this island were rare; rather, its inhabitants were people who had been sent there: prisoners and their families, guards, soldiers, and doctors. What was it that Chekhov sought on this terrible island? Almost a century later, while on sabbatical in Italy after a troubled academic year, McConkey discovers in the letters and memories of Chekhov's journey a kindred and healing spirit. McConkey recreates that journey, weaving it with his own and telling two stories that reveal the peculiar and hidden forces that shape our lives.