The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Hesperus Classics)

On learning of Ivan Ilyich s sudden demise, his former colleagues begin vying for promotion; it seems in neither life nor death has Ivan Ilyich made any lasting impression. And, as the author takes us back to Ilyich s early days, we are shown a life of futility, emptiness, and spiritual barrenness. Yet, in the end, Tolstoy reveals Ivan Ilyich s final resolute gesture to come to terms with his mortality and to embrace his impending death.

Leo Tolstoy (1828 1910) wrote two of Russia s greatest novels, Anna Karenina and War and Peace, as well as many short stories and essays.

Since its U.S. launch in 2003, Hesperus Press has enjoyed a growing reputation for its inspired selection of short classic works. Written by illustrious authors, and often unjustly neglected or simply little! known in the English-speaking world, these works have been made accessible via a completely fresh editorial approach and new translations.

Paradoxically, this story is just as much about the life of Ivan Ilyich as it is about his death. This is in order to fully appreciate who he is and the man he has made of himself before disaster strikes. It is also to highlight both the tragic deterioration of his life and the gradual enlightenment of his inmost soul.

In portraying Ivan Ilyich's character, Tolstoy's subtle but inexorable condemnation is devastating. Not a detail is gratuitous: every point further serves to illustrate what is essentially a life without ideals and without purpose. Yet the author does not beat us over the head with this, rather than allowing the clear and unembellished facts to speak for themselves. And the way Tolstoy knew exactly which facts to accentuate creates a psychological depth which is unparalleled.

Many seem to be under the impression that Ivan Ilyich was some sort of villain, and that the story is a warning against corruption and bad behavior. My personal view is that Ivan Ilyich is no worse--although no better--than many people. Perhaps he is of a slightly lesser moral calibre than most, but that does not make him completely evil. To believe that he is evil is to miss the whole point, for this story was meant to be universal, to depict a reality which exists for us all. This is obvious from the way the story begins, with Ivan Ilyich's friends' and relatives' reactions to his death. Like him, they see death as something that can never happen to them, and like him they lead lives which are shallow and superficial in an attempt to avoid the unpleasant realities of life. By the time he dies, Ivan Ilyich has risen above these people by at last coming to the realization of the worthlessness of his life. This has elevated him above the common man, who avoids the reality of death and the effort it takes to make life worthwhile. In Tolstoy's own words, "Ivan Ilyich's life had been...most ordinary and therefore most terrible."

Therein lies the impact of this story: Ivan Ilyich is Everyman, and the message he represents is applicable at every moment in our lives.


In Passing   September 20, 2002
Alvaro Lewis (Redwood City, CA USA)
29 out of 32 found this review helpful

Tolstoy's novella makes rewarding and unsettling reading. Surely, I can think of no novel that treats dying as boldly. Death is a fact. In this story Ivan Ilyich's life and death are plainly represented in a fashion that remarkably resembles the times I have been aware of other, near people dying. What the novel puts on display in so satisfying and disconcerting a fashion is the remarkable inability or reluctance of most people (I ashamedly include myself in this group) to take part in the life of a person who is inevitably and rather immediately dying. Only one character in the novel has the goodness, humility and patience to care for a dying man, the rest scurry about and take care of their anticipated needs in the face of losing a loved one.

I find that I read this book again every year and that it remains such a fine portrait of a bureaucrat whose family life does not entirely satisfy him and whose pursuit of a more meaningful life fails to cease even in sickness, when he understands that his mortality is soon to be demonstrated. There are few works of this nature that I can set in the company of this short novel. Despite many readings, I feel I still don't entirely understand it, but later in life I imagine I will do better. This book is so excellent and the edition here lends itself to portable and pleasant reading.


Only 10 of us??   October 31, 2003
Vincent R. Corvaia (Bellevue, WA United States)
25 out of 27 found this review helpful

I am so sorry only 9 other people have reviewed this book for Amazon. If it were up to me, I'd place a copy in every hotel and motel room in America, right next to Gideon. I realize that some books just hit us the right way at certain times in our lives, and I once had a hard time trying to persuade 18- and 19-year-olds to appreciate this one. But when I was around 30, I read the title novella, and it changed my life by changing my outlook on life and enabling me to make some decisions I'd never have taken seriously if I hadn't read it.

But I don't want to scare you off. Tolstoy is perfectly accessible, the title character's dilemma is heartrending (the title gives you a clue), the characters universal, and the effect upon closing the cover after the last page indelible. If one person reads it after reading these 10 reviews, I'll be happy.


A work that masterfully exhibits the essence of Christianty   June 24, 1999
24 out of 41 found this review helpful

Few literary works are capable of properly representing Christianity especially in such a brilliant way. The few that do are Flannery O' Connor and Dostoevsky's works. However, the problem that occurs is that people who are not Christians in order to understand the work create their own idea of what the author is trying to say. For instance, The Death Of Ivan Ilyich is often seen only in existential terms by those that are not Christian or is given a broad psychological analysis. What the work is really about is the selfishness of man, his loneliness,and the meaninglessness of life without Christ. He empahsizes the meaninglessness by Ilyich and their all consuming materialism. Notice how no matter how much his wages increase it isn't enough. This should resonate with American society, however it is too busy trying to act as Ivan and his family did. Although, written before Capitalism, Tolstoy stunningly rebukes it. In addtion, he brilliantly shows what true Christianity is about and not as the American church would like people to perceive it. For instance, he repeatedly emphasizes the notion of dying to sin (dead to sin) and being alive in Christ. But this is too often missed because people have failed to understand the true nature of Christianity. How he does this is brilliant. For instance, in the beginning of the book his supposed friends are seen as thinking well at least he's dead and I'm not. But Tolstoy is mocking them and everyone who thinks this way. For they are really dead in that they are spirtually dead and slaves to sin, while Ivan has moved on from being dead in sin to dead to sin and alive in Christ. This is what baptism is supposed to represent. Chiefly, this work is a blatant example of the process that an individual undertakes when they convert to Christianity. As a result, those that are not Christian too often don't understand the story and great it is. If you want to examine more work that is equally brilliant read Flanney O'Connors short story's, especially A Good Man is Hard to Find, which is best story available on demonstrating God's grace and essence of the gospel. As to the person who said that the story is ruined by the ending being told at the beginning you are missing the point entirely. Tolstoy was more interested in the content in the story making a specific point, rather than shrouding the ending in mystery. Additionally, the reader is unaware that Ivan will convert to Christianity in the end, so the ending is still not entirely known to the reader. And the title is ironic because Ivan is the one that actually finds life and didn't die, while all the other characters are spiritually dead with the exception of Geraism the servant. He actually represents God's grace being actively present on earth.


If only I could give it more stars   February 29, 2000
silvia (Israel)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

Death of Ivan Ilich is one of the greatest things ever written! It follows the life story of Ivan Ilich but specificly his dying.This story is a lesson for life, for everybody that reads it,because it demonstrates how a person can make all the sociably acceptable choices yet all the wrong ones ,personaly.Ivan Ilich did everyting that was expected of him,and what he expected of himself, yet,he never knew that he never really lived,that he was never happy.That is to say he never knew it, until it was too late,until he was about to die.This story,for me at least, is not about death as it is about life.It's about doing all the right things yet finding out you are all alone in the world.Nobody really loves you and you don't love anyone.You("IVAN")never liked your job and never had any real friends and the last time you were really happy was when you were four years old.The worse thing is that you can't do anything about it,now!Tolstoy manages to take the reader and lead him through Ivan's life until his last breath,until you feel, you almost die with him.It is an incredible experience that will make you stop and think about life and what you want to make of it before it's too late.