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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I finished the story and my immediate thought was saying a prayer for death when it comes to come quick and easy.
I read the translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky and it was just absolutely amazing! It was so easy to read, yet it was still written so intricately. The progression of ivans physical pain and his thoughts throughout of it were portrayed so well. Had to stare at the wall for a few minutes sometimes tbh
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
“Death is finished," he said to himself. "It is no more!"
He drew in a breath, stopped in the midst of a sigh, stretched out, and died”
Mas que obra prima!
Não sei bem o que dizer , mas nem sabia o que esperar.Odeio começar a ler um livro já sabendo do que se trata e neste caso, posso dizer que foi a melhor escolha que fiz!Apesar de que o título nos dá o spoiler de “Ele morre no fim”
Posso certamente dizer que este livro vai ser um dos principais da minha biblioteca,apesar de achar que muitos não o acharão tão importante assim.A verdade é que este livro tocou-me de uma forma especial.Gostava de o ter lido um pouco mais cedo para me sentir compreendida ou, talvez esta tenha sido a altura perfeita porque me reconfortou e me deu uma nostalgia amarga e ao mesmo tempo confortável (?) Não sei mesmo dizer o que este livro me fez sentir,assim como Ivan Ilyich não sabia muito bem como explicar a sua dor.Senti-me tão próxima dele e de tudo o que ele sentia e pensava para si mesmo…Em suma chorei rios…Só vos aconselho a leitura!
Deu-me uma forma de ver a vida …aliás a morte…completamente diferente de todas as outras que já me tinham sido apresentadas.
Tolstoy mostra o sofrimento de Ivan de uma forma tão real …ESTOU SEM PALAVRAS AINDA!!!
Nós sentimos a dor com ele…morremos lentamente.E a mulher dele!!!Ah como a espezinhámos,como a odiámos!!Ela que para nós leitores se torna como uma personificação do sofrimento e a lembrança constante de que não estamos bem…só queremos paz.
Este livro foi incrível de se ler principalmente para quem ainda não teve coragem de entrar no mundo feroz da literatura russa (por exemplo:Anna Karenina,Guerra e Paz,Irmãos Karamazov) isto é um excelente começo.100 páginas que nos destroem!
Num pequeno aparte diria que esta minha publicação foi mais uma carta de amor ao livro do que uma crítica
Mas que obra prima!
Não sei bem o que dizer , mas nem sabia o que esperar.Odeio começar a ler um livro já sabendo do que se trata e neste caso, posso dizer que foi a melhor escolha que fiz!Apesar de que o título nos dá o spoiler de “Ele morre no fim”
Posso certamente dizer que este livro vai ser um dos principais da minha biblioteca,apesar de achar que muitos não o acharão tão importante assim.A verdade é que este livro tocou-me de uma forma especial.Gostava de o ter lido um pouco mais cedo para me sentir compreendida ou, talvez esta tenha sido a altura perfeita porque me reconfortou e me deu uma nostalgia amarga e ao mesmo tempo confortável (?) Não sei mesmo dizer o que este livro me fez sentir,assim como Ivan Ilyich não sabia muito bem como explicar a sua dor.Senti-me tão próxima dele e de tudo o que ele sentia e pensava para si mesmo…Em suma chorei rios…Só vos aconselho a leitura!
Deu-me uma forma de ver a vida …aliás a morte…completamente diferente de todas as outras que já me tinham sido apresentadas.
Tolstoy mostra o sofrimento de Ivan de uma forma tão real …ESTOU SEM PALAVRAS AINDA!!!
Nós sentimos a dor com ele…morremos lentamente.E a mulher dele!!!Ah como a espezinhámos,como a odiámos!!Ela que para nós leitores se torna como uma personificação do sofrimento e a lembrança constante de que não estamos bem…só queremos paz.
Este livro foi incrível de se ler principalmente para quem ainda não teve coragem de entrar no mundo feroz da literatura russa (por exemplo:Anna Karenina,Guerra e Paz,Irmãos Karamazov) isto é um excelente começo.100 páginas que nos destroem!
Num pequeno aparte diria que esta minha publicação foi mais uma carta de amor ao livro do que uma crítica
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"It occurred to him that he had not spent his life as he should have done."
Nothing more uplifting than willingly diving into the abyss of existential despair by picking up Tolstoy, fully aware of how this individual does not write books, but crafts sublimely worded emotional breakdowns disguised as literature.
The Death of Ivan Ilych (and BoJack the Horseman) – A reflection on Mortality, Meaning and the Illusion of fulfilment.
Suddenly confronted with a terminal illness, high-ranking judge Ivan Ilych, is coerced to reckon with the fact that his unyielding pursuit of social status and propriety has left him empty, for at the end of the day, richer and denser than any material belonging, is the universal terror of death and the realization that most life is spent ignoring its inevitability.
“Well, that’s the problem with life, right? Either you know what you want, and you don’t get what you want, or you get what you want, and you don’t know what you want.” No, not Ivan Ilych, rather Diane Nguyen from BoJack the Horseman – a quote I found tremendously suitable to encapsulate Ivan Ilych’s paradox: take an ambitious man, allow him to climb the social ladder (as high as possible by the reality’s standards), marry appropriately and live a life that is, by society’s standards and expectations, correct/proper. Yet, is that it? Is that the answer? If having to confront with the terrifying question: Have I truly lived, or have I merely performed life according to the script handed to me? the answer might be more nuanced and not as clear as we’d like it to be.
Aspirations: Are they truly ours?
Ivan Ilych’s ambitions, as he seems to be thinking about them, are not really his, but rather society's ideals reflected back at him - he strives for respectability, a polished career, a modern(ly) decorated home, all of which doesn't bring him joy, necessarily, but they are what one ought to desire - this being the core of the existential crisis the novella explores: are our dreams, goals, aspirations (whatever name you want to give them) our own, or are they merely projections of what society has conditioned us to desire? Ivan spent his life pursuing ideals that, when stripped of his social prestige, revealed themselves as empty and unfulfilling. The fear of failure is not about personal loss but about losing the approval of an indifferent society.
The Illusion of a proper life
I got everything I ever wanted, and I'm still unhappy - BoJack The Horseman
I absolutely adored the way Tolstoy has portrayed the way in which Ivan has meticulously followed the script of a respectable man, painting such a vivid image of a life that maintained the image of success throughout its course - yet, as his own demise is approaching, he is faced with the realization that none of it is fulfilling and achieving socially acceptable success does not equate to happiness.
Mortality and the Fear of Nonexistence
One day, you're gonna look around you and you're gonna realize that everybody loves you, but nobody likes you. And that is the loneliest feeling in the world. Herb Kezzaz (still BoJAck the Horseman)
Just like in Ivan Ilych's case, I feel that, if not all, most of us, are not aware of death's inevitability, or if we are, we simply avoid thinking about it. As his final is approaching, he realizes that people around him - his colleagues, his wife - never truly cared for him as a person, they have merely played their social roles, so he finally understands that he has lived for external approval rather than genuine connection.
The Meaningless of societal validation and The Search for redemption
I felt the grip tighten as Tolstoy has forced Ivan Ilych to find himself in existential despair when realizing that all he's achieved means nothing in the face of death, especially by only giving him the chance to question his life choices when it was already too late. Yet, Ivan was allowed to find peace in his final moments, with not only the understanding, but also the acceptance of the fact that he had not lived authentically.
In the great, grand scheme of things, we're just tiny specks that will one day be forgotten. So it doesn't matter what we did in the past, or how we'll be remembered. The only thing that matters is right now, this moment.- Secretariat (BoJack The Horseman)
Yes, as I have probably made it very clear, this short, compelling masterpiece has made me more aware of my own aspirations, whether are they mine or am I simply following into the footprints of someone else's footsteps, and a dire need to rewatch BoJack the Horseman.
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This line really got me.
“To live? To live how?” asked the voice of his soul.
“Yes, to live as I lived before: nicely, pleasantly.”
“As you lived before, nicely and pleasantly?” asked the voice. And he started to go over in his imagination the best moments of his pleasant life. But—strange thing—all those best moments of his pleasant life seemed now not at all as they had seemed then.
Sadly, we don't appreciate our mundane life until we have been stripped of it, look back, and reminisce about the "nostalgia." The Nostalgia Effect is kicking in
challenging
emotional
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