Amazon.com: Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories (9780606122474): Leo Tolstoy: Books

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Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) wrote two of the great novels of the nineteenth century, War and Peace and Anna Karenina.

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32 Reviews

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

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4.4 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)

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58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only 10 of us??, October 31, 2003

By

Vincent R. Corvaia "yourpalvince" (Maine, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Death of Ivan Ilych And Other Stories (Paperback)

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.

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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If only I could give it more stars, February 29, 2000

By

silvia (Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories (Family Happiness, The Kreutzer Sonata & Master and Man) (Paperback)

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.

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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the most realistic and engaging stories I've read., December 12, 2000

By

Rania Tikoo (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories (Family Happiness, The Kreutzer Sonata & Master and Man) (Paperback)

This story begins with the death of Ivan Ilych, a well-respected member of the Court of Justice in the late 1800s. The story follows this event by going into flashback, and exposing the significant events that lead up to his death. Ivan Ilych's unsatisfying life primarily consisted of drowning himself into his work, putting up with married life, hosting social dinners, and playing bridge with his friends and colleagues. One of the most crucial events pertains to Ivan Ilych being diagnosed with an illness. This forces him to analyze his way lof living. I really appreciated this specific short story, because it expressed how much a society's views and beliefs can effect an individual's way of life. I highly reccommend this book to everyone.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Tolstoy Introduction
I've not read any other works by Tolstoy, but I think these stories provide a good example of his style, or at least some of what he is capable of and they are interesting reads,... Read more

Published 6 months ago by CNT

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story,
I wish I could find out who the front cover artist was. I suppose he or she worked directly for Signet, since there's no acknowledgement given for the picture.

Published 12 months ago by Richard Locke Peterson

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read!
I couldn't put this book down I read this book in one day. Each story left me with different emotions. Read more

Published 14 months ago by Suzan Rango

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Tolstoy's greatest tales
Both Leo Tolstoy and many literary experts consider this 1886 tale The Death of Ivan Ilych "one of Tolstoy's best stories. Read more

Published on December 28, 2009 by Israel Drazin

5.0 out of 5 stars On reading Tolstoy for the first time
[Note: Nearly a hundred of my fiction reviews by great literary artists and others not so well known are now available in my book, "Novels and other Fictions. Read more

Published on January 16, 2009 by Dennis Littrell

4.0 out of 5 stars A good primer for beginning to read Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy is acknowledged as one of the greatest novelist in history, but his major works--Anna Karenina and War and Peace are very long and filled with Russian names and... Read more

Published on November 21, 2008 by John Martin

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful collection of classic stories
"The Death of Ivan Ilyich" is the best of the four stories in the volume by far. It is a thought-provoking tale of facing one's mortality. Read more

Published on August 30, 2008 by J. Harrison

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Tolstoy's brief novella 'Death of Ivan Ilyich' is one of the most compact and brilliant meditations on the meaning of death in literature. Read more

Published on August 25, 2008 by Mr. Steiner

5.0 out of 5 stars Tolstoy Wrote with the Mind of God
My life would be a poor thing had I never read Tolstoy. Why does Russian translate so very very easily to English? This I found in Russian literature.

Published on June 23, 2008 by Gary Betz

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible translation
I am currently reading "The Death of Ivan Ilych" by another translator and it is a remarkable and moving story. Read more

Published on June 13, 2008 by 3AM READER

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
We were in mourning for my mother, who had died in the autumn, and I spent all that winter alone in the country with Katya and Sonya. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
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Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ivan Ilyich, Piotr Ivanovich, Praskovya Fiodorovna, Gaffer Yeroshka, Sergei Mihailovich, Tatiana Semeonovna, Girey Khan, Law Courts, Fiodr Vassilyevich, Goody Ulitka, Marya Minichna, Fiodr Petrovich, Dmitri Sidorov, Greben Cossacks, Old Believers, Sarah Bernhardt

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