The Death of Ivan Ilych [eBook]

The Death of Ivan Ilych [eBook]

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"The Death of Ivan Ilych", first published in 1886, is a novella written by Leo Tolstoy, one of the masterpieces of his late fiction. The novella tells the story of the death, at age 45, of a high-court judge in 19th-century Russia. Living what seems to be a good life, his dreadful relationship with his wife notwithstanding, Ivan Ilyich Golovin injures his side while hanging up curtains in a new apartment intended to reflect his family's superior status in society.

Within weeks, he has developed a strange taste in his mouth and a pain that will not go away. Several expensive doctors are consulted, but beyond muttering about blind gut and floating kidneys, they can neither explain nor treat his condition, and it soon becomes clear that Ivan Ilyich is dying... -- Excerpt from Wikipedia

Review

Novella by Leo Tolstoy, published in Russian as Smert Ivana Ilycha in 1886, considered a masterpiece of psychological realism. (The name Ilich is also transliterated Ilitch, Ilych, or Ilyich.) Ivan Ilich's crisis is remarkably similar to that of Tolstoy himself as described in A Confession (1882). The first section of the story portrays Ivan Ilich's colleagues and family after he has died, as they reflect on the significance of his death for their careers and fortunes.

In the second section, Tolstoy reveals the life of the man whose death seems so trivial: "Ivan Ilich's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible." The perfect bureaucrat, Ivan Ilich treasures his orderly domestic and official routine. Diagnosed with an incurable illness, he at first denies the truth, but influenced by the simple acceptance of his servant Gerasim, Ivan Ilich comes to embrace the boy's 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. By the story's end he is at peace. --The Merriam-Webster Encylopedia of Literature

About the Author

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Никола́евич Толсто́й, pronounced [lʲef nʲɪkɐˈlaɪvʲɪt͡ɕ tɐlˈstoj] ( listen); 9 September [O.S. 28 August] 1828 – 20 November [O.S. 7 November] 1910), also known as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer, philosopher and political thinker who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Tolstoy was a master of realistic fiction and is widely considered one of the greatest novelists of all time. He is best known for two long novels, War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877).

Tolstoy first achieved literary acclaim in his 20s with his semi-autobiographical trilogy of novels, Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852–1856) and Sevastopol Sketches (1855), based on his experiences in the Crimean War. His fiction output also includes two additional novels, dozens of short stories, and several famous novellas, including The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Family Happiness, and Hadji Murad. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays.

Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker, social reformer, and Georgist. His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi,Martin Luther King, Jr., and James Bevel.

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Compatibil cu:	iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle
Dimensiunea Fișierului:	1-2 MB
Compatibil cu Kindle:	Da