The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy

I last (and first) attempted to read Tolstoy when I was in high school and bought a paperback copy of War and Peace mostly in an attempt to impress a girl. I've been asked whether or not I was successful. Well, I don't think I made it past page 50 or so of about 1500 pages, so you can use your own judgment to answer this question.

But today's review is on The Death of Ivan Ilych. (Here's the Amazon.com link for a slightly different collection.) This is a much shorter story than W&P. I'm not sure what the distinction is between a (long) short story, a novella, and a short novel, but it's in there somewhere, and I made it through the whole thing.

The subject of Ivan should be clear enough from the title. It begins with the title character's funeral, but then backtracks to cover his entire life, including the illness that ended it. The whole gamut of emotions is expressed by ol' Leo, including lots and lots of despair. Tolstoy was masterful in his writing. At times I found myself amazed at how "modern" it sounded for being written in eighteen hundred something-something or whenever.

While I can't say that it was a life-changing experience for me, I can say that this story has the potential to alter how you look at life and death. Thus, it's a weighty and consequential work that will make you think, rather than just being a piece of fluff. Just being potentially life-changing is enough for me to give it my highest rating: five stars out of five.


My copy of Ivan also included the story Master and Man. In this story, a wealthy rural Russian businessman and one of his servants set out (by horse and sledge) on a trip to close the deal on the purchase of a forest. In the middle of winter. In Russia. In a snowstorm. Can you guess what happens next?

Once again, Tolstoy very believably explores the thoughts of men as they approach death. While this story doesn't quite have the impact of Ivan, it's worth reading if you ever find it. Three stars out of five.

I still don't have any plans to pick up War and Peace any time soon.