The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Leo Tolstoy Translated by Constance Garnett
The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Leo Tolstoy Translated by Constance Garnett
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The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Author: Leo Tolstoy; Translated by Constance Garnett

Narrator: Simon Prebble

Unabridged: 2 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/18/2011

Categories: Fiction, Classic


Synopsis

Hailed as one of the worlds masterpieces of psychological realism, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a worldly careerist, a highcourt judge who has never given the inevitability of his death so much as a passing thought. But one day death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise he is brought facetoface with his own mortality. How, Tolstoy asks, does an unreflective man confront his one and only moment of truth? The first part of the story portrays Ivan Ilyichs colleagues and family after he has died as they discuss the effect of his death on their careers and fortunes. In the second part, Tolstoy reveals the life of the man whose death seems so trivial. The perfect bureaucrat, Ilyich treasured his orderly domestic and office routine. Diagnosed with an incurable illness, he at first denies the truth but is influenced by the simple acceptance of his servant boy, and he comes to embrace the boys belief that death is natural and not shameful. He comforts himself with happy memories of childhood and gradually realizes that he has ignored all his inner yearnings as he tried to do what was expected of him. Will Ilyich be able to come to terms with himself before his life ebbs away? This short novel was the artistic culmination of a profound spiritual crisis in Tolstoys own life, a nineyear period following the publication of Anna Karenina during which he wrote not a word of fiction. A thoroughly absorbing glimpse into the abyss of death, it is also a strong testament to the possibility of finding spiritual salvation.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jbear62 on August 28, 2019

Both stories in this rule. Master and Man slaps hard as hell. Highly recommend. Short and quick. Pad your numbers.......more

Goodreads review by Shaun on November 04, 2018

Two points in our lives can only be known and experienced anecdotally: our birth and our death. “The Death of Ivan Ilych” and “Master and Man” are Leo Tolstoy‘s late masterpieces. Written well after “War & Peace” and “Anna Karenina,” both stories directly confront the long, uneventful process of dyi......more

Goodreads review by Mohammad Sadegh on February 02, 2024

[URL not allowed] خسته‌ای و کنار قفسهٔ کتاب‌های خانه نشسته‌ای. این روزها، وسط خواندن کتاب‌های دیگر، چشمت به کتابی نازک در قفسهٔ کتاب می‌خورد: از آن کتاب‌هایی که فله‌ای از دسته‌دوفروشی محل خریده‌ای. داستان اول را که دو بار خوانده‌ام و درباره‌اش نوشته‌ام. پس با وجود وسوسه‌ای فراو......more

Goodreads review by Celeste on February 25, 2023

After watching Living (with Bill Nighy) this morning, i found out Ishiguro wrote the screenplay, and based it on Kurosawa's Ikiru - -which itself was inspired by The Death of Ivan Ilyich, which i read such a long time ago i had almost no memory of it. This ed. was translated by Ann Slater Pasternak......more

Goodreads review by Sean on November 27, 2021

Two different , and contrasting, takes on the the way one faces the end of life. They made me see the idea of redemption/salvation outside of its usual religious context. These men were not appealing to a higher judge to determine their worth. They were judging it themselves. Ilyich missed a very imp......more