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kikatheunicorn's review against another edition
5.0
Family Happiness - 5/5
The Death of Ivan Ilyich - 5/5
The Kreutzer Sonata - 5/5
The Devil - 5/5
The Death of Ivan Ilyich - 5/5
The Kreutzer Sonata - 5/5
The Devil - 5/5
aduda06's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Happily Ever After- 4/5
The Death of Ivan Ilyich- 5/5
The Cossacks- 3.5/5
The Death of Ivan Ilyich- 5/5
The Cossacks- 3.5/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
franchang's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
molly_vi0let's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
katieagenbroad's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
slichto3's review against another edition
3.0
The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories - what a catchy title! The book is a set of short stories by Tolstoy. Duh. The stories themselves vary in quality. Some are really, really good. Others are... not so much. On the whole, I thought it was average, with tremendous peaks and some disappointing valleys.
My favorite, by far, was The Death of Ivan Ilych. Lately, I've been thinking about death a lot. It freaks me out. A lot. But I haven't found many books that actually explore death. I've read many books with characters who are dealing with loss - someone they know has died. I know that that can be incredibly tough, but I'm more interested in finding characters that actually have to confront their own death. That's what happens in The Death of Ivan Ilych. Ivan Ilych is basically a normal guy. He's reasonably successful and smart. His marriage used to be great, but has gotten more fraught as it's gone on. He's middle aged and mostly happy. But then he gets sicker. Then sicker. And eventually, he become pretty sure that he's going to die. It's all devastating, but it's so honest. It really confronts that fear of death, and how terrible the slow degradation of health can be. All the time, there's this hope that, maybe, things will get better. Instead, they just get worse. Ivan Ilych eventually accepts his fate, although the process was painful and by no means certain. I hope I can attain that same level of acceptance. Right now, I just feel this deep and unrelenting fear.
The second story I liked was The Forged Coupon. That story starts with a couple adolescent boys forging some money. They manage to successfully pawn off their fake bill on someone else, but that infraction leads to a breadcrumb trail of other transgressions. In a way, this small crime leads to the ruin of several other people. It's mostly very depressing. I was struck by all the poor people described by Tolstoy. In most of the Tolstoy that I've read, he talks mostly about the rich. Here, he talks about a lot of people hard on their luck. All it takes is a little push, and those peoples lives are completely ruined.
The final story I liked was Polikushka. This is a pretty simple and straightforward story about a guy who's pretty down on his luck. He used to steal stuff and was, in general, a crappy worker, but he's trying to get his life on track and be better. But then he makes a very small, honest mistake, and his life is destroyed. It's a bit tough to read, but it really shows the rough position that people are in. I'm lucky to be in the situation that I'm in.
The remaining stories I found to be pretty forgettable. I try to challenge myself with classics, but sometimes I wonder if I'm too dumb to really appreciate them. That's how I felt with the other stories. They felt like a slog to my dim brain.
A mixed bag, with some real gems. I'd recommend skipping all the stories except the three I mentioned. But you're probably smarter than me, so maybe give them all a try.
My favorite, by far, was The Death of Ivan Ilych. Lately, I've been thinking about death a lot. It freaks me out. A lot. But I haven't found many books that actually explore death. I've read many books with characters who are dealing with loss - someone they know has died. I know that that can be incredibly tough, but I'm more interested in finding characters that actually have to confront their own death. That's what happens in The Death of Ivan Ilych. Ivan Ilych is basically a normal guy. He's reasonably successful and smart. His marriage used to be great, but has gotten more fraught as it's gone on. He's middle aged and mostly happy. But then he gets sicker. Then sicker. And eventually, he become pretty sure that he's going to die. It's all devastating, but it's so honest. It really confronts that fear of death, and how terrible the slow degradation of health can be. All the time, there's this hope that, maybe, things will get better. Instead, they just get worse. Ivan Ilych eventually accepts his fate, although the process was painful and by no means certain. I hope I can attain that same level of acceptance. Right now, I just feel this deep and unrelenting fear.
The second story I liked was The Forged Coupon. That story starts with a couple adolescent boys forging some money. They manage to successfully pawn off their fake bill on someone else, but that infraction leads to a breadcrumb trail of other transgressions. In a way, this small crime leads to the ruin of several other people. It's mostly very depressing. I was struck by all the poor people described by Tolstoy. In most of the Tolstoy that I've read, he talks mostly about the rich. Here, he talks about a lot of people hard on their luck. All it takes is a little push, and those peoples lives are completely ruined.
The final story I liked was Polikushka. This is a pretty simple and straightforward story about a guy who's pretty down on his luck. He used to steal stuff and was, in general, a crappy worker, but he's trying to get his life on track and be better. But then he makes a very small, honest mistake, and his life is destroyed. It's a bit tough to read, but it really shows the rough position that people are in. I'm lucky to be in the situation that I'm in.
The remaining stories I found to be pretty forgettable. I try to challenge myself with classics, but sometimes I wonder if I'm too dumb to really appreciate them. That's how I felt with the other stories. They felt like a slog to my dim brain.
A mixed bag, with some real gems. I'd recommend skipping all the stories except the three I mentioned. But you're probably smarter than me, so maybe give them all a try.
classicpancake's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
karenvol6's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bec6080's review against another edition
4.0
didn't read all of the stories but I liked the ones I did read