The Death of Ivan Ilyich: Oct-Dec '22 Group Read

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The Death of Ivan Ilyich: Oct-Dec '22 Group Read

1Majel-Susan
Oct 2, 2022, 10:57 am

Welcome to our final Q4 group read of the year! — The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

For a bit of intro to this novella, I've gone to the Bantam Classic description on Goodreads:
Hailed as one of the world's supreme masterpieces on the subject of death and dying, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a worldly careerist, a high court judge who has never given the inevitability of his dying so much as a passing thought. But one day death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise he is brought face-to-face with his own mortality. How, Tolstoy asks, does an unreflective man confront his one and only moment of truth?

This short novel was the artistic culmination of a profound spiritual crisis in Tolstoy's life, a nine-year period following the publication of Anna Karenina during which he wrote not a word of fiction. A thoroughly absorbing and at times terrifying glimpse into the abyss of death, it is also a strong testament to the possibility of finding spiritual salvation.


The full translation by Louise and Aylmer Maude is available on The University of Minnesota Libraries site, which recommends it as "a contemporary translation of the text by persons who were closely acquainted with Tolstoy and who had the benefit of his advice with respect to the translation of difficult passages."

Let us know if you will be joining us or even if you're going to be a lurker, and some questions just to get things started...

Have you read the book before or will this be your first time?
Which translation are you going for?
Would you like to share the book cover of your copy?

Once again, welcome!

2Majel-Susan
Oct 2, 2022, 10:58 am

And some little snippets from the indispensable Wikipedia about Leo Tolstoy:

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (9 September 1828 – 20 November 1910), usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time.

Born to an aristocratic Russian family in 1828, Tolstoy's notable works include the novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878), often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction.

His fiction consistently attempts to convey realistically the Russian society in which he lived. The Cossacks (1863) describes the Cossack life and people through a story of a Russian aristocrat in love with a Cossack girl. Anna Karenina (1877) tells parallel stories of an adulterous woman trapped by the conventions and falsities of society and of a philosophical landowner (much like Tolstoy), who works alongside the peasants in the fields and seeks to reform their lives. Tolstoy not only drew from his own life experiences but also created characters in his own image, such as Pierre Bezukhov and Prince Andrei in War and Peace, Levin in Anna Karenina and to some extent, Prince Nekhlyudov in Resurrection. Richard Pevear, who translated many of Tolstoy's works, said of Tolstoy’s signature style, "His works are full of provocation and irony, and written with broad and elaborately developed rhetorical devices."

In the 1870s, Tolstoy experienced a profound moral crisis, followed by what he regarded as an equally profound spiritual awakening, as outlined in his non-fiction work A Confession (1882). His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him to become a fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist.

After Anna Karenina, Tolstoy concentrated on Christian themes, and his later novels such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886) and What Is to Be Done? develop a radical anarcho-pacifist Christian philosophy which led to his excommunication from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1901. For all the praise showered on Anna Karenina and War and Peace, Tolstoy rejected the two works later in his life as something not as true of reality.

In his novel Resurrection, Tolstoy attempts to expose the injustice of man-made laws and the hypocrisy of an institutionalized church. Tolstoy also explores and explains the economic philosophy of Georgism, of which he had become a very strong advocate towards the end of his life.

3m.belljackson
Editado: Oct 3, 2022, 6:55 pm

>1 Majel-Susan: I'd love to join - the first Tolstoy book in my small collection to recommend is Reminiscences of Tolstoy
by his son, Count Ilya Tolstoy. 5 Stars for the photographs and stories.

(The author does dwell in some long asides.)

This will be my third reading - in the Louise and Aylmer Maude translation.

My tech skills are not equivalent to posting the cover drawing from GREAT SHORT WORKS OF Leo Tolstoy.

4Majel-Susan
Oct 3, 2022, 9:49 pm

>3 m.belljackson: Welcome, and thank you for the recommendation!

I must admit that I am not familiar with Tolstoy and this will be the first time I read a novel by him.

The 75er's have a handy link to "How to do Fancy Things in Your Posts," including how to add pictures, if you are interested. Yours would appear like this:

5Majel-Susan
Oct 3, 2022, 9:56 pm

I've got an exam next Monday, and I won't be able to get started until that's over, so in the mean time, I'm still deciding whether to read the classic Louise and Aylmer Maude translation or the one by Pevear and Volokhonsky, who seem to be the current favoured translators of Tolstoy's works. I might end up going for Louise and Aylmer Maude, though, because there's a 4-week wait list on the other.

6m.belljackson
Oct 27, 2022, 8:30 pm

>5 Majel-Susan: Though invited to be part of group read of Ivan Illych, I seem to be the only reader

and so have posted my Review.

7raton-liseur
Oct 29, 2022, 4:48 am

>6 m.belljackson: The group read are usually pretty quiet, and I can't complaint as I am not an active participant.
I plan to read The Death of Ivan Illych next month, so will read your review after this. You can post it in this list as well if you want, so some other readers make react.

8m.belljackson
Oct 30, 2022, 12:25 pm

>7 raton-liseur: Thank your for your clarification.

The first group read I joined years ago was led by a California teacher
who expanded it with many discussion Q & A.

Since then, it's been mostly read as you will.

9raton-liseur
Nov 28, 2022, 8:45 am

I finally read The Death of Ivan Illych earlier this month. I've not written my review yet, but it made an impact.
I took this opportunity to reread Master and Man, that was included in my edition and it was interesting comparing both. I think I prefered Ivan Ilych, though.

I hope some other read it, and liked it as well.

10raton-liseur
Dic 14, 2022, 3:19 pm

I've set up the nomination and voting thread for 2023 Q1 and Q2 group reads, if you'd like to participate.
The nomination phase is open till Sunday the 18th of December.

11raton-liseur
Dic 17, 2022, 9:37 am

If you want to carry on with other Classics group reads, nominations for 2023 Q1 and Q2 are open till tomorrow.
So far, four books have been nominated:
East of Eden by Steinbeck, Faust by Goethe, David Copperfield by Dickens and Tristram Shandy by Sterne

12raton-liseur
Dic 19, 2022, 8:54 am

Votes are now open for 2023 Q1 and Q2 group reads.

13raton-liseur
Ene 8, 2023, 12:56 pm

Votes for 2023 Q1 and Q2 group reads are open till 15th of January.
Come and participate, if you'd like a classics group read in 2023!