The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Bantam Classics)

Mass Market Paperback, 128 pages

English language

Published March 1, 1981 by Bantam Classics.

ISBN:
978-0-553-21035-4
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3 stars (1 review)

Ivan Ilych, a peaceful public official in the Russian provinces, has his life permanently changed by a serious illness which no doctor can accurately diagnose. Hailed as one of the world's supreme masterpieces on the subject of death and dying, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a worldly careerist, a high court judge who has never given the inevitability of his death so much as a passing thought. But one day death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise he is brought face to face with his own mortality. From world-renowned novelist Leo Tolstoy comes this story of a worldly careerist who must consider death for the first time and examine his own mortality. With a superb translation by Lynn Solotaroff, it features an introduction by Ronald Blythe.

97 editions

The fascination of the mundane - but with rather flat prose

3 stars

I'd been wanting to dive into some Russian classics for a while, and Google told me this one was the most accessible so there it is.

Found a cheap used copy from a little independent store, result!

Unfortunately, and I wonder if it was maybe due to the translator, I found the prose a little flat, lacking much depth or character.

I did like the story, there's something quite fascinating about a tale of the fantastically mundane.

I did also like how it ended but of course I won't say any spoilers here.

So... I didn't love this book.

I liked it but I didn't love it.

It is short and accessible so if you're like me and just wanting to experience some Tolstoy in a few hours, it's a good choice.

Subjects

  • Literature: Texts
  • Russian & Former Soviet Union
  • Literature - Classics / Criticism
  • Literature: Classics
  • Classics
  • Fiction / Classics
  • Fiction