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The Death of Ivan Ilych

Leo Tolstoy

Start date: September 1, 2016

Finish date: September 30, 2016

Discussion: Short Story/Novella Collection

Why we're reading this: Short Story Read-September 2016
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Short Story/Novella Collection

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What Members Thought

Mar 27, 2017 Ian Anderson rated it liked it · review of another edition

This short little story packs one hell of a punch...

..or maybe I should use a different term other than punch because that would be too quick and convenient. Tolstoy flat out gives us the outcome of this story not only in the title but on the very first page of the book. While this is usually not a wise strategy in writing a book it doesn't matter here. It doesn't matter at all. We know Ivan Ilych dies from page one. What we still have yet to learn at this point is what went through his mind whi ...more

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Dec 19, 2020 Rajat Gururaj rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: russian-masters

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a book which brings the reader to contemplate death from the perspective of the one who is dying.The plot summary is as follows: Ivan Ilyich is a well-to-do Judge in Tsarist Russia who has lived a full successful life free of reproach.In his mid-forties, he falls while decorating his new house and ends up bruising his side.This innocuous injury goes unnoticed at first but soon develops into an all-consuming pain which robs Ivan Ilyich of everything in life worth livin The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a book which brings the reader to contemplate death from the perspective of the one who is dying.The plot summary is as follows: Ivan Ilyich is a well-to-do Judge in Tsarist Russia who has lived a full successful life free of reproach.In his mid-forties, he falls while decorating his new house and ends up bruising his side.This innocuous injury goes unnoticed at first but soon develops into an all-consuming pain which robs Ivan Ilyich of everything in life worth living for. He ultimately dies after enduring this unimaginable pain for weeks and towards the end questions the unfairness of life.

For most people , dying is a brief passing moment where they transition from life to death and experience the proverbial "life flashing before one's eyes experience". But for Ivan Ilyich- this dying phase goes on for months where he is slowly drained of not only the simple pleasures of life but also ambition, affection and ultimately hope.The book is titled 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' but it is actually about 'The Dying of Ivan Ilyich'.

For the dying Ivan Ilyich , the world of healthy men and women seems duplicitous - he fervently hates the preoccupation of his wife , daughter and his daughter's suitor with trifles like dressing up and going to the theater. He experiences debilitating episodes of pain while at work during the proceedings of court.He goes to innumerable doctors - who provide diagnoses such as a 'Blind Gut' or a 'Floating Kidney' and prescribe palliatives which turn out to be ineffective. We as readers in the 21st Century might be amused by such idiosyncratic 19th century medical terms but even now the correct understanding of pain and pain thresholds is not something that is totally within the grasp of modern medical science. Once Ivan Ilyich understands the certainty of his imminent death, he enters a different world, only superficially connected to life as he knew it.He is able to clearly see and find offensive, the total absence of the fear of death in the people he knew and he hates them even more when he realizes that they are not able to comprehend the wide gap between them- the healthy living and him - the dying man.

Ultimately, this fantastic novella brings the reader face to face with the questions of life and death and fairness.Ivan Ilyich led a fairly decent happy life but in his dying, he bares the full brunt of the randomness of fate. ...more

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