At the February 2025 meeting
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
- Published 1886
- Fiction
- 93 pages
- Alex5
- Matt5
In brief
The consequences of living without meaning, and maybe what a good death might be.
From the publisher
This satirical novella tells the story of the life and early death of a high court judge. Ivan Ilych is proud of his achievements and his status in society, despite his poor relations with his wife which renders his home life bleak and joyless. When he becomes hopelessly ill he begins to realize that he has not after all lived the good life he had supposed he was enjoying.
From Wikipedia
The Death of Ivan Ilyich (also Romanized Ilich, Ilych, Ilyitch; Russian: Смерть Ивана Ильича, romanized: Smert' Ivána Ilyichá), first published in 1886, is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, considered one of the masterpieces of his late fiction, written shortly after his religious conversion of the late 1870s.
Considered to be one of the finest examples of a novella, The Death of Ivan Ilyich tells the story of a high-court judge in 19th-century Russia and his sufferings and death from a terminal illness.