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The Death of Ivan Ilyich Book Review

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a novella by Leo Tolstoy published in 1886. It’s considered one of the masterpieces of this literary genre and deservedly so.

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“Can it be that I have not lived as one ought?“

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The story is about a high-ranking official residing in the comforts of societal norms. The unexpected blow of a terminal illness derails his predictable routine, bringing him to a journey of profound self-reflection. This novella is one of the most renowned works from the late period of Tolstoy’s literary output and it certainly ranks among the best novellas ever written. This is a universal tale that is pretty much a must read due to its timeless themes and hugely important messaging.

Tolstoy began to reassess his religious beliefs during this period, which clearly impacted this story. That can best be seen in its ending that reads very much as a deeply spiritual experience. The author’s life philosophy combines the best parts of Christianity – helping out and having meaningful relationships with other humans – and existentialist thought – being aware of death and living your life to the fullest while you still have the chance. It’s such a healthy outlook that I would honestly pretty much call the the perfect way to live your life.

It is mind-blowing just how relatable and contemporary this 19^th century story feels. This is because Tolstoy could not anticipate just how much capitalism would warp people’s psyches today. The author presents through his protagonist the life that is fueled by self-interest, materialism and relationships that are anything but deep or honest. The best existentialist part of this story is Ivan’s realization that he wasted his life on pursuing better social standing. In the bigger scope of things job positions and social hierarchy do not matter at all. What matters is cultivating truly personal and deep relationships with other people. Humans are social creatures has never rang more true in a literary text.

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Tolstoy preaches compassion as the most important part of human existence. This is best evidenced in the deeply moving relationship between Ivan and his nurse Gerasim. Tolstoy did so much with so little as this character only gets a couple of pages and he made an indelible mark on both us as readers and Ivan himself. Through him we see that not only physical help is needed in these grave circumstances, but also a spiritual and emotional one.

This is a deeply existentialist work that never goes into nihilist territory, which was wonderful to witness. Not only does it not go into overly dark territory, but it does the opposite by affirming Ivan toward his inevitable demise through a spiritual awakening in that final chapter that was structurally, emotionally and thematically very complex. Accepting our own mortality is crucial in guiding us to lead better lives and only those of us who are truly aware of our mortality have the power to focus on the right things in life.

The author also really got all of the feelings that must go through a terminally ill person’s head before their death. He depicted so truthfully and heartbreakingly the feeling of alienation, disappointment, anger, resentment, sorrow, regret and eventually full acceptance. Ivan goes through this whole cycle in the span of just sixty pages.

Focusing on personal and honest interactions than fake and overly proper ones is another message that rings true today more than ever before. He was also brutally honest depicting the feelings of those that knew Ivan after his death and how they would either think about the funeral as an obligatory nuisance or even feel joy that they have outlived him. His writing is phenomenal, especially in the reversal of life and death not just structurally, but also emotionally – Ivan’s life was a sad one, but he found true meaning near his death. I also appreciated the structure of the first chapters being much longer than the shorter final chapters, perfectly accompanying the life stages of the protagonist.

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The Death of Ivan Ilyich doesn’t fully develop its characters given its time restraints. Ivan is phenomenally developed and his every inner conflict is detailed in a great way. But the others left a lot to be desired, especially his wife. I found her to be overly cold and unlikable. It was done just to further prolong his pain, but it wasn’t really needed in my opinion. The entire family felt a bit too caricaturist. His closest friend was also not fully developed, but at least was a more interesting character in his complex feelings toward his ill friend. The novella is very well paced, wonderfully written in its descriptions and particularly deft in its sophisticated structure. I can see a world with a longer book of twenty more pages that describe the other characters and their feelings more, but the sixty page count still worked wonders in making us feel Ivan’s urgent feelings as he is descending toward his demise.