Смерть Ивана Ильича

Tolstoy addressed a glorious issue in a very short story, comparatively speaking. His other works are much longer. He managed to illustrate the futility of a faithless life, lived for material wealth, status, and power. As Ivan lies dying he recalls his life, and it brought me to tears. I felt pity for him, and the opportunities he lost to share love with his family. A very moving book.

Leo Tolstoy is of course best known and most acclaimed for long novels but is also one of the great short fiction writers. This collection has four of his best short works: "Family Happiness," the title story, "The Kreutzer Sonata," and "Hadji Murád." This may not seem like much, but as one might expect, they are not really that short, ranging from sixty to 120+ pages for a total of more than 350 - a substantial percentage... Read Full Review

'The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories' by Leo Tolstoy All stories contained in this small volume are truly wonderful, however, I've chosen to focus on `Family Happiness' - the first short novel (or novella) in this issue - solely due to the fact that is unique amongst Tolstoy's writings. This narrative is written from the feminine perspective - a young girl named Masha's - which sets it apart from Tolstoy's unparalleled... Read Full Review

Prior to writing "The Death of Ivan Illych," Tolstoy had undergone a nearly overwhelming existential crisis, and here he lays it out with the black humor of a bemused undertaker. The result is an uncomfortably insightful work, both bleak and comical.

...so I could read this story in the original. This novella is an absolute masterpiece. It made me think about things my jaded self had long since given up on, like God, purpose of life, death, fear. Tolstoy has an absolute deadpan sense of humor, which was so subtle it took me a while to catch on (for example, Ivan's fatal injury occurs while he is hanging expensive drapery out to impress his friends--what a beautifully... Read Full Review