As good as anything Tolstoy ever wrote... Self-assured, vital, unforgettable
Guardian
The simplicity and power of this novella, the story of the terrible encroachment of death on a shallow man spiritually unprepared for it, has staggered millions
Sunday Telegraph
I don't read Russian, but I think Tolstoy's writing comes over whatever translation you read...he wrote the great, terrible story <i>The Death of Ivan Illyich</i>
- Redmond O'Hanlon, Independent
An indubitable masterpiece
- Yann Martel,
For me, the best insight into the process of dying comes from Leo Tolstoy in his short story, <i>The</i> <i>Death of Ivan Ilych</i>, which examines the life and death of the most ordinary man
- Oliver James, Mail on Sunday
'As good as anything Tolstoy ever wrote... Self-assured, vital, unforgettable' Guardian
The title story of this collection is about a man battling a mysterious illness. His family visit his bedside, their faces masks of concern. His colleagues pay their respects but only think of the advantages created by his death. This intensely moving story of Ivan Ilyich's lonely end is one of the masterpieces of Tolstoy's late fiction.
The ten other stories in this collection include 'The Kreutzer Sonata', 'The Devil', and 'Hadji Murat' which has been described by Harold Bloom as 'the best story in the world'.
The ten other stories in this collection include 'The Kreutzer Sonata', 'The Devil', and 'Hadji Murat' which has been described by Harold Bloom as 'the best story in the world'.