The Death of Ivan Ilych
Ratings186
Average rating4.1
I'm not sure if the translation I read just wasn't great, but the whole thing just kind of fell flat for me. I thought the latter third or so was pretty interesting, but most of it was kind of a chore for me to read and didn't really keep my interest.
This book deals with the death of well, Ivan Ilych and its focus is mainly on the inevitably of death, how people deal with it, the frustrations and sufferings of the protagonist, how he himself copes or at least tries to with death, as well as his regrets about a life wasted.
To me, while the book is excellent especially with how well it deals with the character's thoughts about death, him slowly realizing that there is no coming back from what he is suffering and how he first tries to play the seriousness of his disease down. It does that very well.
But there is another element, a universality of Ilych's experience that is evident in the sufferings of people around us and this book just describes it to perfection.
A succinct, masterfully written novella true to its title. Tolstoy brings so much humanity into the story and characters, revealing all the things people notice and think but never speak about. Reminds me of Our Town a bit. Both are slightly removed from our time, but remain completely relevant. Ivan Ilych begs the reader to look at themselves and their world, what they care about and the consequences of their choices. The selfish perspectives we all seem to be stuck with are exposed, and their fruit is as ugly as you'd expect.
I really enjoyed it, so much that I'm eager to start a longer work of his. Gotta ease my way into War and Peace with Revelations or something.
Powerful meditation on how death comes for us all, and how the world's customs and “propriety” don't prepare us for the ultimate things.
“Why fear death? Be scared of living” - Laura Marling
Extremamente angustiante. É uma grande espiral da morte e do sentimento de se estar morrendo. Muito bem escrito, a gradação da decadência é lenta e excruciante.
When I saw that The Death of Ivan Ilych is considered one of the finest examples of a novella, and since this is the first time I've ever participated in Novellas in November...I felt led to read this book.
And I agree—it is definitely one of the best novels I've ever read. Ivan Ilyich is a judge in Russia, and his life is spent gaining position socially and at work. He neglects others and he neglects himself.
And then, unexpectedly, he becomes ill and begins to decline, a decline that leads to his death. As he moves closer and closer to death, he regrets all of the important things he failed to do, all the ways he acted without regard to others.
Re-read this classic examination of death and dying. A reflective read sure to cause some to reassess.
The most compelling study of the inner life of a dying person I have yet read. Tolstoy continues to prove himself a master of the human mind and spirit.
Reading this book is what I imagine DMT feels like.
It's about an old russian man in the 1860s who's slowly dying because he bumped his appendix against the wall hanging some curtains, but the twist is that the guy happens to be Larry David
Read this because it was referenced to in “Being Mortal”. A mere 50-page read, but in no way simple and incredibly profound.
This book challenges you with these few essential questions:
What is life?
What is death?
Is death a point, a beginning or the end?
What is a good ending? Is death necessarily a sad ending?
The writing reads like you inhabit Ivan Ilyich's body. It does not use beautifully flowing sentences, but simple ones conveying the urgency and misery a dying person is experiencing.
___
My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend ⬅️⬅️⬅️
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
On the beginning of the book I was afraid that when I die, nobody will be sorry nor sad. Very human and selfish of me I know.
Trough the middle of the book I was afraid of becomig jaded and forgetting how to live and how to love.
In the end I was afraid that death will be the only truth in my life.
I hope those fears are here to stay.
Cheers.
Sempre achei que as pessoas estivessem exagerando ao falar de nomes em livros russos, mas não. É mesmo um estranhamento completamente próprio. E eis que li Tolstói.
Foi um livro cinco estrelas — bom, portanto — mais ou menos até a reta final, momento em que o autor fez o Dickens e me surgiu com toda uma reflexão sobre como a vida de Ivan Ilitch havia sido vazia e sem sentido até então, como todas as boas memórias da vida adulta não eram verdadeiramente boas, e apenas as da infância eram puras e, logo, boas de verdade. E religião. No fim, eu fiquei com uma forte impressão de que A morte de Ivan Ilitch é meio que uma versão russa, não-natalina, atenuada e bem menos chata de A Christmas Carol. Eu posso dizer isso? Ok, perdão.
Bom, já fica claro aqui nessa novela que o Tolstói escreve a psique humana como ninguém. Chega a ser angustiante a descrição do que passa pela cabeça de um personagem à beira da morte. Para quem, como eu, ainda precisa criar coragem para enfrentar um Guerra e paz ou Anna Kariênina de cara, A morte de Ivan Ilitch é uma boa pedida — ou pra quem já leu os calhamaços, também, fica aqui a dica desse mais fininho.
Uma excelente e profunda reflexão sobre a morte e a sua inevitabilidade. Um olhar profundo e introspectivo sobre os últimos dias de um homem moribundo.
Na fase que conheci o projeto Infinito etc e a PaliAtivas, esse livro fez particular sentido.
"Nothing to be done about It. Only stare at It and go cold."
From other reviews I anticipated that this might be a tougher read - bleaker and more emotionally wrought. I'm not disappointed that it didn't hit me in the heart like it might have - I think it's all the more powerful for planting seeds of thought and question.
Crude and straightfoward book about dead. Good read when you are having problems in doing something risky in your life!
“the very fact of the death of someone close to them aroused in all who heard about it, as always, a feeling of delight that he had died and they hadn't.”
“And he has to live like this on the edge of destruction, alone, with nobody at all to understand or pity him”
“False. Everything by which you have lived and live now is all a deception, a lie, concealing both life and death from you.”
This is one short and gloomy yet profoundly charming book. As the name suggests, it's about the protagonist Ivan Ilych who's enjoying a rather normal and happy bourgeois lifestyle. He's married to the woman he loves and starts a family with her and loves his children wholeheartedly. He's also admired and respected in the society. But then, sudden changes take place in his life after he falls sick and his health starts to deteriorate terribly. Tolstoy's style of writing is so beautiful that he makes you stand in shoes of Ivan Ilych and go through all the pain and anguish that he feels throughout his illness. Ever imagine how it would feel if you're terminally ill and you know deep down that you're going to die soon? How would the people around you react about this; your friends, colleagues and family? If not, this is exactly the book that'll make you envision the misery of lying on your deathbed! Tolstoy's ideas on death and human behavior is absolutely brilliant and thought provoking. A must read masterpiece of Russian literature!
Decidi ler “A Morte de Ivan Ilitch” como primeiro contato com o autor, principalmente, por ser um livro curto (e, não vou mentir, morria de medo de qualquer coisa que envolvesse “literatura russa”).
Mesmo tendo poucas páginas, Tolstói consegue prender o leitor desde o início, sendo um livro rápido e, ao mesmo tempo, extremamente profundo. A história vai narrar a vida de Ivan Ilitch até ele chegar em seu último estágio na vida, a morte, e COMO ele percebe essa chegada tão assustadora para todos.
Um livro simplesmente fantástico, porém não recomendaria para pessoas sensíveis (mas, se quiser, dá uma chance, viu?)
Gostaria ainda de elogiar a edição da Antofágica. Mesmo tendo lido em ebook, a edição está ótima, com ilustrações que transmitem com perfeição o que acabamos de ler. Além disso, conta com alguns textos de apoio, tanto no início quanto no fim.
A short story published as a Penguin 60s Classic.
This story is adorned with masses of four and five star reviews.
I found it hard work to keep up my motivation to finish this. Admittedly it is outside of my normal reading genre, and is relatively philosophical in its approach to life and death, relationships and family. Philosophical analysis is so not my thing, nor high literature - I am far to basic in my thinking and entertainments.
On the basis of this, I don't think I will ever be brave enough to attempt Anna Karenina or War and Peace.