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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The most definitive novella about life and how we live it. Highly suggest to read the translated version by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. No other translator from the Russian to English is better done than these two. It is the most clear and poetic while also staying as close as possible to the authors intended vision. Always go for P&V.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First time i read it i give it 3 star, now 2 years later i read it again noe i give it 5 star
The Death of Ivan Ilyich presents the idea that we die unable to change the past and that our delusions hide our true status in life. Ivan thought he was a man on top of the world, but in reality he was not very remarkable. At the end, Ivan’s stuck in a situation where he regrets what he’s done but he has no power to change it. Ultimately there was nothing he could do to change the past, and life has already moved on without him.
The evil that men do lives after them
The good is oft inferred with their bones
- Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
The evil that men do lives after them
The good is oft inferred with their bones
- Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This book...wow..okay for a short novella..there is a lot to unpack here. First of all this was the first thing I’ve read by Leo Tolstoy and the first from there historical time period and origin. My 19th century Russian is a much unexplored area. So briefly before even touching on the book itself, I had to do some research on Leo Tolstoy....and yea... what I read about his early life..makes so much sense having finished The Death of Ivan Ilyich. So, Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, ****He was born into aristocracy in 1828. Obviously way more famous for War and Peace and Anna Karenina. His mother and father died very early in his life. The latter when he was nine...He eventually served in the military and was appalled by the number of mass deaths in the war. (the Crimean War)
The most telling fact about his upbringing is that he kept a diary...and in it he logged different things that he regretted...vowed not to do tomorrow...but ultimately failed and did them anyway. This comes into play in The Death of Ivan Ilyich, in that the main character later in the novella, questions his life and reflects heavily on what deeds he did.
His brother died, eventually too, and I think all of this really shaped the book. As short as the book is, it really feels like a lashing out and response to something. The story here is so striking, heart breaking and morose, it feels like he had a lot of pent up feelings about the subject of death and what one would go through watching themselves whither...it’s quite a harrowing read. I came into the book thinking that this was almost a dark comedy. From the first chapter is seems like something that would be written as a gothic, tongue in cheek satire. However this changes quite profoundly. The story this dives into the actual emotional psychosis of this poor suffering man. His family who played the parts of loving and supportive roles while he was well, just look the other way, and pay him less and less attention as he’s dying alone. What’s tragic about this is that the book starts with him dead and the news of his death rippling out to the others in his circle. So by the end of the book, as we got to know him, and seeing what he went through, it’s truly heart wrenching to know that he did end up dead. It starts off with us the reader not knowing or caring much about his death...to by the end of the book, I had this sinking feeling of loss, loneliness and almost despair for him.
The most telling fact about his upbringing is that he kept a diary...and in it he logged different things that he regretted...vowed not to do tomorrow...but ultimately failed and did them anyway. This comes into play in The Death of Ivan Ilyich, in that the main character later in the novella, questions his life and reflects heavily on what deeds he did.
His brother died, eventually too, and I think all of this really shaped the book. As short as the book is, it really feels like a lashing out and response to something. The story here is so striking, heart breaking and morose, it feels like he had a lot of pent up feelings about the subject of death and what one would go through watching themselves whither...it’s quite a harrowing read. I came into the book thinking that this was almost a dark comedy. From the first chapter is seems like something that would be written as a gothic, tongue in cheek satire. However this changes quite profoundly. The story this dives into the actual emotional psychosis of this poor suffering man. His family who played the parts of loving and supportive roles while he was well, just look the other way, and pay him less and less attention as he’s dying alone. What’s tragic about this is that the book starts with him dead and the news of his death rippling out to the others in his circle. So by the end of the book, as we got to know him, and seeing what he went through, it’s truly heart wrenching to know that he did end up dead. It starts off with us the reader not knowing or caring much about his death...to by the end of the book, I had this sinking feeling of loss, loneliness and almost despair for him.