The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Vintage Classics) Paperback – October 2, 2012

This work by Leo Tolstoy was written in 1886, after his much lengthier classics,  War and Peace (Modern Library Classics)  and  Anna Karenina . It is a fine character study of one man who readily accepts mid-19th Century Russian society and strives for a suitable and comfortable place in it, where playing bridge is his greatest joy and objective, when it is played with the “right people.” His projected comfortable life is betrayed by his body; he becomes ill and will die at the youthful age of 45.Tolstoy commences his novella with the announcement of Ivan Ilyich death at the Court. He had been a Magistrate judge. Though not portrayed as a wicked person, the venal reaction of most Court personnel is how his death will help them personally, in terms of career advancement for themselves or their friends. One version of dancing on the dearly departed’s grave.The state of medicine, a century and a half ago, was one of the topics I found notable for reflection. Ilyich may or may not have injured himself on a ladder, and that may have been the catalyst, or not, for his subsequent illness. As his health clearly declined, the diagnosis ranged from a “floating kidney” to “vermiform appendix.” Unmentioned, of course, he might have had some form of cancer. After an initial reluctance to consult the medical establishment, towards the end he is calling in “celebrity doctors.” They seem to specialize in telling the patient what he wants to hear. With recent news reports about a now-withdrawn candidate to head the Veterans Administration, I thought: not much has changed. Yet, so much has, since all the physicians then had to formulate their diagnosis based on the symptoms. There simply were no diagnostic tools available, such as CT’s or MRI’s. Today there would be an excellent chance that his illness would have been properly determined, and he would have received life-saving treatment.After the first chapter, Tolstoy describes Ilyich’s life. He was a middle child, who only wanted decorum and peace in life. He graduated from Law School, then took a provincial post as Prosecutor and, later, an Examining Magistrate. He married the most beautiful young lady in the town, who was of “good family.” Her name is a tongue-twisting Praskovya Fedorovna. But, with the first pregnancy the world changed. She became querulous; money problems became prominent, as there was always a desire to live a bit beyond their means. She would also blame him for bringing the illness upon himself. It seems to be the way of all flesh.Tolstoy also depicted Ilyich’s existential angst as his life is ebbing away: Had he lived his whole life wrong, he wonders? And like a cat, he simply would prefer if everyone went away. Aside from all that high-tech equipment, health care has made substantial strides in palliative care from Ilyich’s day, even though even then they had morphine and opium. I noted in today’s Washington Post that students are reading Tolstoy to those in our prison complexes. Tolstoy still has much to say to all of us. 5-stars.

No one suggests the meaning of life through investigating death like Tolstoy. All the possessions, positions, and people of power fade away when the end of life is near. We delve into the depths of our souls and see what we are and what we are not. The truth cannot be hidden no matter how badly we would like it to be. Ivan Ilyich suffers more from his mental anguish of what his life is not, or rather, the falsity of his life, than from his terrible physical pain. In the end, the truth lies before him and as he faces death there is light. Tolstoy is the master of offering a million explanations and stabbing at the meaning of life in just few short chapters. Brilliant writer!

This book is for lovers of truth.... What starts as a story about a man with little depth ends up being about a man who cannot tolerate lies. His only comfort as he dies is with someone who is simple and natural and accepts the truth of the situation he is in. The main character, Ivan Ilyich, finally at the end connects with a spiritual experience of forgiveness, kindness, and being beyond death. It is beautiful the way Leo Tolstoy exposes the thinking of the different characters and what motivates them. This is literature with amazing depth. A pleasure to read.

I really enjoyed this novella. It was very though provoking and seemed very contemporary and could just as easily have been written today ... except that few authors combine such eloquence with such simplicity. The honesty is striking and heart-breaking. The only problem was that the editing was sloppy and thus distracting with grammatical errors and misspellings, although never so bad to prevent a quick grasp of the intended phrasing.

There are definitely typos. Regardless, I rated 5 stars because of the content.In modern age when superficiality and lies are so prompted by society, this book has a profound message that pushes us to tell the truth and live out “goodness” and our full potential. Thank you Tolstoy.At the same time I do wonder, “Does everyone who lives a morally questionable life get some sort of punishment? Does everyone(except psychopaths) experience this mental purgatory?”

This short storie from no one less than Tolstoi deals with one of the most important thing. We known that living is a dangerous business as it always ends in death. An here we can follow this path with Ivan Ilyich and find what matters most in the end.

The story is remarkable; this edition is terrible- misspellings, wrong words, numerous errors.A short but profound story that compels you to consider what you’re really living for. As well, it forces you to consider what assuages suffering. Brilliant and a lot easier to read than War and Peace😉!

Forces one to review what is life for and brings value to the present moment, as death, inevitably, will come as a time for account settlement .

VG

I am pleased with the book. Would recommend

Nice reading

There are hundreds of failures in the Kindle version. This should be corrected, because reading the commentaries it seems that the paperback one is well written. And the kindle readers pay for the kindle version too, so it should be correct!!

Tolstoy brings us into the path of a self righteous man who becomes ill. This man must wrestle with what it means to die when all around people are in denial. How does one prepare to face death? This the story of one who eventually does.