Leo Tolstoy

A new translation of the writer's most significant works of short fiction with autobiographical and moral themes, including "Hadji Murat" and "The Devil."

The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories

Ronald Wilks

David McDuff

Anthony Briggs

Offers a collection of Tolstoy's short stories, including "Three Deaths," "After the Ball," and "The Forged Coupon."

Kay so Queso

“And my love for her just disappeared. That's the way it is with some affairs, and those are the sort of events that change the course of a man's entire life. But you say…” he concluded.

“[…] No, I don't want to know the gentlemen and I'm sure that they couldn't care less about me. But such is man's nature that although I couldn't give a damn about them they're the reason why I'm ruining the best years of my life, my happiness and whole future.”

And how that man suffered, just to appear in his own eyes the way he wanted to appear, for his fellow officers and the soldiers could never see him the way he wanted to be seen.

‘Yes, she's a fine old lady,' he said from over there in a rather muffled voice. ‘Will God ever let me see her again?’

A tad beyond me. Complicated, but alluring. I love. 

Adam Scharf

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I actually bought this book almost exclusively for 

, but it was my least favorite of all the stories. In fact, it was probably the only story I didn’t like.

The translators did a very nice job putting Tolstoy’s stories into context and I love the stories they chose to include. The first two stories are about men going through war and it provides a great, intimate perspective of the experience, which I thoroughly enjoyed and greatly fits the theme of “death” throughout the book without addressing it too heavily. I didn’t care much for 

. Honestly, I’ve already said my piece. It’s pretty intense and you can see Tolstoy’s midlife crisis in the writing (it reminded me of Tony Soprano’s night terror episodes), but I didn’t really find it too interesting and felt like the main character was written to avoid garnering too much sympathy.

Finally, I LOVED the last two stories! Some of my all-time favorites. 

 was a great, simple story and captured an essence that I really enjoyed and related to. I also liked how the story was an older man telling it to his peers, looking back on his past experience with love. 

 was one of my all-time favorites. So much happens, it’s so well connected from beginning to end and he writes through all levels of society with so many different domains and lifestyles. It really captures how interconnected life is with a remarkable journey of a butterfly effect. Even with its sprawling narrative and characters, it still manages to come to emotionally satisfying conclusion on the matter. Truly a remarkable story.

Amazing job by the individuals who put this together and it was a phenomenal introduction to Tolstoy for me. Not every story is a banger, but it all flows together very well and provides phenomenal perspective.

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I actually bought this book almost exclusively for The Death of Ivan Ilyich, but it was my least favorite of all the stories. In fact, it was probably the only story I didn’t like.

The translators did a very nice job putting Tolstoy’s stories into context and I love the stories they chose to include. The first two stories are about men going through war and it provides a great, intimate perspective of the experience, which I thoroughly enjoyed and greatly fits the theme of “death” throughout the book without addressing it too heavily. I didn’t care much for Three Deaths after it, but it was alright. 

Then, the namesake Death of Ivan Ilyich. Honestly, I’ve already said my piece. It’s pretty intense and you can see Tolstoy’s midlife crisis in the writing (it reminded me of Tony Soprano’s night terror episodes), but I didn’t really find it too interesting and felt like the main character was written to avoid garnering too much sympathy.

Finally, I LOVED the last two stories! Some of my all-time favorites. After the Ball was a great, simple story and captured an essence that I really enjoyed and related to. I also liked how the story was an older man telling it to his peers, looking back on his past experience with love. The Forged Coupon was one of my all-time favorites. So much happens, it’s so well connected from beginning to end and he writes through all levels of society with so many different domains and lifestyles. It really captures how interconnected life is with a remarkable journey of a butterfly effect. Even with its sprawling narrative and characters, it still manages to come to emotionally satisfying conclusion on the matter. Truly a remarkable story.

Amazing job by the individuals who put this together and it was a phenomenal introduction to Tolstoy for me. Not every story is a banger, but it all flows together very well and provides phenomenal perspective.

Jeremy Anderberg

For "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" specifically: 

“The main thing was that Ivan Ilyich had his work. The whole interest of life was concentrated for him in the world of his work. And this interest absorbed him.”

It can seem morose to read a famed story about death in the midst of a time of great death in our world. But when it’s done well, this type of tale actually serves to impart the greatest sort of lesson literature can offer: how to live well.

And in Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” I encountered what’s often considered one of the greatest short stories of all time.

My relationship with Tolstoy thus far in my reading life has been fruitful, if not a bit rocky. I tore through the first half of Anna Karenina a couple years back, only to be stalled when my baby daughter stopped sleeping for a bit. I never got back into it, and it’s been tormenting me from the bookshelf ever since.

Since that great novel plays such a big role in A Gentleman in Moscow, I was inspired again to read Tolstoy, though diving into Anna again was a bit intimidating. So I turned to the short stories, starting with his most famous.

There’s no real lead-in to Ivan’s death — we start right away with his former coworkers discussing the lawyer’s passing, including, most importantly, how it would impact their own standing in the business.

Eventually, Tolstoy turns the clock back a bit to get us to Ivan’s early life and marriage, long illness, and excruciating death at age 45. Honestly, I couldn’t always figure out what Tolstoy was trying to say. But, as I’ve heard from other fans of the story, the bits that do come through clearly are incredibly memorable and powerful.

Tolstoy presents a view of death that isn’t romantic in the least bit; it’s slow, painful, morally fraught. And yet, towards the end, as everyone seems to experience, Ivan at least begins to come to grips with the crummy life he led. With that, of course, is an acknowledgement about what makes life truly meaningful and fulfilling.

Could anything be more appropriate right now?

“In public opinion I was going uphill, and exactly to that extent life was slipping away from under me.”

If the very idea of Tolstoy scares you a bit, take a look at his short stories. This one is pretty easy-reading and comes with valuable and timeless insight into the human condition.

Nathan Griffin

Again with the dead Russians, Nathan. 

Tolstoy is just so good at characters and their relationships to others and the world that they inhabit. While Dostoevsky is a master at confronting the dark fringes of humanity lurking deep in the soul, Tolstoy prefers a more optimistic, life-affirming arena that never feels naive or artificial. These stories stories (though at least 2 of them could be considered novellas) are an awesome way of experiencing Tolstoy without having to commit to the marathon of Anna Karenina or War & Peace.

'no one pitied him as he would have liked to be pitied' As Ivan Ilyich lies dying he begins to re-evaluate his life, searching for meaning that will make sense of his sufferings. In 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' and the other works in this volume, Tolstoy conjures characters who, tested to the limit, reveal glorious and unexpected reserves of courage or baseness of a near inhuman kind. Two vivid parables and 'The Forged Coupon', a tale of criminality, explore class relations after the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 and the connection between an ethical life and worldly issues. In 'Master and Workman' Tolstoy creates one of his most gripping dramas about human relationships put to the test in an extreme situation. 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' is an existential masterpiece, a biting satire that recounts with extraordinary power the final illness and death of a bourgeois lawyer. In his Introduction Andrew Kahn explores Tolstoy's moral concerns and the stylistic features of these late stories, sensitively translated by Nicolas Pasternak Slater. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Laura Carnevale

Family Happiness: 4.25/5
The Death of Ivan Ilyich: 4.5/5
The Kreutzer Sonata: 4/5
The Devil: 4.25/5

Denis

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is best known for War and Peace and Anna Karenina, commonly regarded as amongst the greatest novels ever written. He also, however, wrote many masterly short stories. This ebook contains ten of the best in distinguished translations that have stood the test of time. In the main tale, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tostoy portrays the long agony of a man gradually coming to terms with his own mortality. The story is a deep and moving scrutiny of loss and absolution, in which the writer explores the dichotomy between the artificial and the authentic life. This is another masterpiece by Leo Tolstoy, written after his religious conversion in the late 1870s.

The Death of Ivan Ilych & Other Stories

kylie winland

Ajay Kannan

Here are some of Tolstoy?s extraordinary short stories, from ?The Death of Ivan Ilyich??in a masterly new translation?to ?The Raid,? ?The Wood-felling,? ?Three Deaths,? ?Polikushka,? ?After the Ball,? and ?The Forged Coupon,? all gripping and eloquent lessons on two of Tolstoy?s most persistent themes: life and death. More experimental than his novels, Tolstoy?s stories are essential reading for anyone interested in his development as one of the major writers and thinkers of his time.

Shreyaa

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 new collection include 'The Kreutzer Sonata', 'The Devil', and 'Hadji Murat' which has been described by Harold Bloom as 'the best story in the world'.

Hooman Rostami

"No one pitied him as he would have liked to be pitied." As Ivan Ilyich lies dying he begins to re-evaluate his life, searching for meaning that will make sense of his sufferings. In "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" and the other works in this volume, Tolstoy conjures characters who, tested to the limit, reveal glorious and unexpected reserves of courage or baseness of a near inhuman kind. Two vivid parables and "The Forged Coupon", a tale of criminality, explore class relations after the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 and the connection between an ethical life and worldly issues. In "Master and Workman" Tolstoy creates one of his most gripping dramas about human relationships put to the test in an extreme situation. "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" is an existential masterpiece, a biting satire that recounts with extraordinary power the final illness and death of a bourgeois lawyer. In his Introduction Andrew Kahn explores Tolstoy's moral concerns and the stylistic features of these late stories, sensitively translated by Nicolas Pasternak Slater. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Aidan

Tolstoy wrote many masterly short stories, and this volume contains four of the longest and best in distinguished translations that have stood the test of time.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories

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