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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Some stories here are better than others, but Tolstoy is (obviously) an incredible writer.
Stories that stick out include the title story, "The Prisoner of the Caucasus," and "Hadji Murat."
Stories that stick out include the title story, "The Prisoner of the Caucasus," and "Hadji Murat."
More delicious Tolstoy. Three novellas about love and death. The opening, Happy Ever After, is a devastating and unflinching tale of first love that wears off. The title story starts with a wake and flashes back over a meaningless life understood too late. The final novella, The Cossacks, features a classic Tolstovian dissolute hero seeking meaning from life but struggling to escape the demands of the flesh. Superb stuff.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories is, as the name suggests, a collection of several stories by the great Russian author, Leo Tolstoy. I personally have only read The Death of Ivan Ilych, but have thoroughly enjoyed it - written well and interestng (at least to me), this story documents the end of the life of Ivan Ilych. A musing upon death, food for though, perhaps?
“Ivan Ilych” is just as masterful as I remember; “The Kruetzer Sonata” even better at second brush; “Master and Man” a pleasant little surprise.
Ivan Ilych’s life revolved around his career; as a high court judge he takes his job very seriously. However after he falls off a ladder, he soon discovers that he is going to die. The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a novella that deals with the meaning of life in the face of death. A masterpiece for Leo Tolstoy written after his religious conversion in the late 1870s.
Something that was fascinating about The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the drastic change in writing style when comparing it to Anna Karenina and War and Peace. I am not just referring to the length, but that does play a big part. I have read somewhere that Tolstoy intentionally made Anna Karenina and War and Peace so long because he wanted to replicate life and the journey the characters face. Allowing the reader to experience every decision and moral dilemma that the character is facing, exploring the growth or evolution of each and every person within the novels.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich takes a more focused approach, dealing with major questions revolving around the meaning of life, death and spirituality. Leo Tolstoy had a major conversion in the late 1870s and the questions in this novel were the questions he was asking himself. Whether or not Ivan Ilyich found the answers he was looking for is up to the reader but it is believed that Leo Tolstoy was still looking for the same answers well after finishing this novella.
There is a lot of pain and torment that appears in this book, which reflects the authors search for answers and that is what really stood out for me. Not only was I reading a spiritual/existential struggle of the protagonist but Tolstoy’s own feeling really came out within the pages. This is what makes this a masterpiece that explores the tortured artist in great detail. I don’t want to say much more, this is the type of book people have to read and make their own mind up about the themes presented, but it is worth reading.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2015/01/15/the-death-of-ivan-ilyich-by-leo-tolstoy/
Something that was fascinating about The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the drastic change in writing style when comparing it to Anna Karenina and War and Peace. I am not just referring to the length, but that does play a big part. I have read somewhere that Tolstoy intentionally made Anna Karenina and War and Peace so long because he wanted to replicate life and the journey the characters face. Allowing the reader to experience every decision and moral dilemma that the character is facing, exploring the growth or evolution of each and every person within the novels.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich takes a more focused approach, dealing with major questions revolving around the meaning of life, death and spirituality. Leo Tolstoy had a major conversion in the late 1870s and the questions in this novel were the questions he was asking himself. Whether or not Ivan Ilyich found the answers he was looking for is up to the reader but it is believed that Leo Tolstoy was still looking for the same answers well after finishing this novella.
There is a lot of pain and torment that appears in this book, which reflects the authors search for answers and that is what really stood out for me. Not only was I reading a spiritual/existential struggle of the protagonist but Tolstoy’s own feeling really came out within the pages. This is what makes this a masterpiece that explores the tortured artist in great detail. I don’t want to say much more, this is the type of book people have to read and make their own mind up about the themes presented, but it is worth reading.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2015/01/15/the-death-of-ivan-ilyich-by-leo-tolstoy/
This book was truly one of the most depressing books I've ever read. It's look on society and on what is important in life, although interesting and certainly very existential, felt a little bit like an over simplification of life and what matter in it. I did however really enjoy the way that Ivan Ilich experienced his last moments of life, as I felt that they were very well written and had the depth that Tolstoy's musings on society and happiness lacked. Still, it was pretty depressing.
Well that was completely wretched to read. Not the writing necessarily, but it is about a guy dying of kidney failure. So, it's exactly what you would expect.
Ok, eu amo literatura russa. Os escritores dessa terrinha tem me agradado logo de cara s2
Lo leí hace menos de un mes, pero mi mamá encontró esta edición hace poquito en una librería y me la regalo, no pude resistirme a releerlo, me encantó cómo la primera vez.