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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Just couldn't get into the story, as short as it is. I would like to give it another try in the future
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
- 6-7/10 writing is really good, made me feel a lot to say the least. it literally makes you question everything, how you've been living your life, if you are doing everything "correctly" so so so much. but it was so depressing, it genuienly made my heart sink at times, especially when talking about death, i feel like that's the scariest part for us humans isnt it? death. the gloomy constantly looming fate that will befall us all, one by one. i loved the writing, but it made me really sad so idk
dark
sad
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
The Death of Ivan Ilych is a terrifying story because it is about a man who realizes on his deathbed that he has wasted his entire life. But he’s not quite sure that this is true, because he lived his life as a successful judge, married a well-respected woman, and generally did everything that society expected him to do, so how could his life have been a waste? I see this as a book about the tension between living according to the way you want to live versus according to the way others want you to live, and it gives a new meaning to the platitude that urges people to not care what others think.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
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
In his life, he accomplished everything a modern man wants. An education? Check. Professional successes? Check. High salary? Check. A wife and kids? Check. Yet he moves through life like a checklist, never finding joy in it. When his children pass, it’s barely a footnote. He doesn’t live in the moment, arguably he doesn’t live at all. Only on autopilot. The first chapter being his obituary is a profound choice that later clearly influenced Stoner. But instead of Stoner's obituary-style opening, we see how people saw him. They knew the name, the status, and the accomplishments of him. Yet could not tell you a detail of the man himself.
An underrated aspect of this book is how inherently self-centered we are. Ivan’s family problems are almost all his fault ultimately. He never wanted a relationship he wanted a wife for the status. Then, when that marriage falls apart he blames her. But the selfishness is shown by how others view Ivan’s sickness. Whether it’s the doctor too busy listening to himself then listening to Ivan. Or the “friends” at the start just being glad it didn’t happen to them. Or his wife sees him as a nuisance.
Yet in the end they cared for him deep down, they cried for him. Heartbreakingly, he strikes his son one final time in the last moments, just then he realized his faults. His daughter asks “Is it our faults you hate us?” When in reality, it’s Ricky his fault. In his dying moments, Ivan realized what he had always done wrong. But he was far too late. He literally runs out of time while asking for forgiveness.
Heavy themes of regret and how social constructs lead to wasted lives. A profound, powerful read that will make you take a long, long look in the mirror. A cold splash of water of a novella. Still relevant today.