The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories: "The Raid", "Woodfelling", "Three Deaths", "Polikushka", "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", "After the Ball", "The Forged Coupon" (Penguin Classics) by Leo Tolstoy (28-Feb-2008) Paperback

by Leo Tolstoy

Excellent Book

Genres: Fiction, Russia, Classics

Paperback

About the author

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой; most appropriately used Liev Tolstoy; commonly Leo Tolstoy in Anglophone countries) was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist fiction. Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.

His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reviews

[Sophia Su · Rating 3 out of 5]

my first time reading tolstoy

only read the death of ivan ilyich and while i enjoyed the prose (very digestible and writing flows really well), it didn’t offer me any insight into “what does it mean to live a good life” (which might not be the point of the book tbh)

like i get ivan lived a shallow, materialistic life that he only came to recognize maybe 2 weeks before his death, but i just cannot relate as these feelings come to be more than i’d like. i think i would’ve appreciated a main character who has already had this realization and realize he’s dying and then have the story unfold from there. but what do i know.

also i read an interesting reddit post on what do you do when your authentic self is a shitty person. like when ivan was healthy he clearly enjoyed living the way he did; he was being authentic! had no internal qualms on whether the things he prioritized could’ve been a “bad” way to lead life. alas, authenticity does not lead to a virtuous life, so it seems. so what does? and does it matter if one never dies in the same vain as ivan (aka having a moral epiphany)?

fyi — i dont think authenticity is real. i think we are all performing to some extent. i think its stupid how we (i) spend more time thinking abt how to be authentic when we don’t even know our own values and how we developed them. i think ppl who understand themselves don’t ever think about authenticity, they just are.

[Bianca Bernhard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review of the Woodfelling. The reviews for the other short stories within are on my account page or sumn.
Similar to Tolstoy's other short story on war experiences (The Raid), this really didn't bring anything to the table. It feels like a chapter, like an excerpt into the life of someone whose past and future is unknown. The short story also doesn't aim to achieve anything, does not have resolution, and I find myself questioning the purpose of even writing this. Given that I have read other long Russian novels such as Anna Karenina, Crime & Punishment, and The Brothers Karamazov, it is literally a thrown away excerpt. Perhaps it was meant to reflect the multitude of personalities one may encounter in life, but the situation was probably more impactful when it was considered contemporary. I don't know, it just feels like one is poking their head through the window of a 19th century Russian battalion; fair, given that Tolstoy himself started to heavily draw upon his war experience for works like War and Peace. I wouldn't really recommend this; similar to The Raid, one should only read this if they are wishing to get a more comprehensive understanding of Tolstoy's works. I rate this nine bricks out of 2 light switches.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review will be segmented into each of the seven stories:

The Raid: 3.5/5

"Can it be that there is not enough space for man in this beautiful world, under those immeasurable, starry heavens? Is it possible that man's heart can harbour, amid such ravishing natural beauty, feelings of hatred, vengeance, or the desire to destroy his fellow? All this evil in man, one would think, should disappear on contact with Nature, the most spontaneous expression of beauty and goodness."

The Raid is a gloomy and harrowing short story portraying the lives of various soldiers, lieutenants, and generals. It is filled with all the different personalities that men find themselves accompanied by in war: sadistic evil men, eager and inexperienced youths, and brave and dutiful captains. Tolstoy repeatedly highlights the silliness and irony of it all, surrounded by breathtaking mountains and streams, tall grass doused with dew and the rays of light - scenes that conjure thoughts of beauty and life; yet here, in this very same scene, soldiers trod, advancing, some to end lives, others to have theirs ended.


The Woodfelling: 3/5

"It was obvious that the artillerymen disliked bullets just as much as the infantry disliked cannon balls. Antonov frowned. Chikin mimicked the bullets and cracked jokes about them - but he clearly did not like them. 'That one's in a hurry!' he said of one, calling another 'little bee'. A third, which screeched slowly and plaintively over our heads, he called 'poor little orphan', which made everyone laugh."

My English professor once said the reason we are so intrigued by stories of war is because nowhere else do you find humans so close to the face of death. As seen in The Woodfelling, every soldier has their own ways of coping with the piercing thoughts of death: cracking jokes, telling stories, playing games, it all revolves around keeping the grim thoughts away, buried deep in their unconscious minds. This works, for the most part, until of course you are surrounded by the deafening firing of rifles and the whipping of bullets, then it seems no other thought is possible but death.

Tolstoy talks about the ways soldiers, specifically Russian soldiers, deal with this:

"Everywhere I have been, and especially the Caucasus, I have always noted the peculiar tact shown by the Russian soldier, who, in times of danger, passes over in silence anything that could have a bad effect on his comrades' morale. The spirit of the Russian soldier, unlike that of southern nations, is not based on easily inflammable but rapidly waning enthusiasm: it is as difficult to rouse him to action as to demoralize him. He needs no special effects - speeches, war-cries, songs or drums. On the contrary: he needs order, and calm, and a complete lack of pressure."


Three Deaths: 5/5

"But there's nothing we can do. It seems to have been God's will. We all bear many sins, I know that, but I trust in God's mercy that all will be forgiven. It must surely be that all will be forgiven. I am trying to come to terms with myself. I too have borne many sins, my dear. But think how much I have suffered. I've tried to bear my sufferings with patience..."

One of the most depressing and thought provoking pieces of work I've ever read. Tolstoy in this story shows the deaths of three living beings, all of different 'social rankings'. His goal, I believe, was to highlight the differences in emotional and sympathetic value we attribute to beings of different classes facing death, despite them sharing one common end. Dispiriting, but, unfortunately true...

"A month later a stone chapel had been erected above the dead lady's grave. Above the driver's grave the stone had yet to appear; nothing more than bright green grass came up from the mound that served as the only indication of the past existence of a man."

"The tree shook throughout its whole body, lurched over and quickly straightened up, wobbling with alarm upon its roots. Everything was quiet for a moment, but then the tree lurched again, another creak came from its trunk, and with its branches snapping and its boughs dangling it crashed down crown first on to the damp ground."

It is ironic how despite this similar fate we all, as living beings, share, that eventually our bodies will turn stiff and cold, drained of all life and color, some beings are cried over, and others aren't given a second thought. The sad reality of life is we aren't as sympathetic as we think ourselves to be, unless of course that stiff and cold body we are staring down was loved - can that really be the only dividing factor?

In the words of William Faulkner: "I can remember how when I was young I believed death to be a phenomenon of the body; now I know it to be merely a function of the mind - and that of the minds of the ones who suffer the bereavement. The nihilists say it is the end; the fundamentalists, the beginning; when in reality it is no more than a single tenant or family moving out of a tenement or town."


Polikushka: 3/5

"'Oh, it's all money, money! A lot of evil comes from it,' said Dutlov in response. 'Nothin' in the world causes more evil than money.'"

In this grim story, Polikushka, a poor peasant known for his lack of trustworthiness and unreliability, is given a small ember of hope to restore his name and hopefully escape from the trenches of peasantry. The mistress of the estate, the only character of higher class who seems to show some form of human compassion for the poor, gives Polikushka one last shot at redemption. Unfortunately, as ill luck and carelessness would have it, Polikushka fails at this task, sending him down a deep spiral of despair and agony. Believing his reputation to be cemented in ruin forever, he takes his own life.

This story portrays vivid and chilling descriptions of what life was like for peasants in 19th-century Russia, and the seemingly insurmountable task, due to social barriers and overall lack of human empathy, of climbing the rungs and escaping the life of peasantry.


The Death of Ivan Ilyich: 4/5

"'Gentlemen!' he said. 'Ivan Ilyich is dead.'"

In many stories, the death of the main character usually comes at the climax, or at least in a major turning point. In The Death of Ivan Ilyich, we find that Ivan Ilyich is proclaimed dead on the very first page. Tolstoy removes this element of suspense right at the beginning, in order for us to focus on the life of Ivan Ilyich. His choices, life decisions, and overall outlook on life are the key focus points of this story.

Being in a position of power (judge), Ivan Ilyich passes judgement and decides the fate of thousands of individuals. Though not abusing this power in any socially unacceptable ways, he enjoys this feeling of superiority, as if to say, "I am above you, I have the power to decide whether you live or die."

After being sickly for some time, being rendered utterly helpless and useless, Ivan Ilyich cannot fathom why this has happened to him, there MUST be some cause...

"'It's not possible that life could have been as senseless and sickening as this. And if it has really been as sickening and senseless as this, why do I have to die, and die in agony? There's something wrong. Maybe I didn't live as I should have done?' came the sudden thought. 'But how can that be when I did everything properly?' he wondered, instantly dismissing as a total impossibility the one and only solution to the mystery of life and death."

In the final hours of his life, glimpsing death peeking out from the horizon as if it were the morning sun, Ivan Ilyich sees the light, and has the epiphany that his life was not what it should have been. It was this total acceptance and submission of a life lived wrongly that set Ivan Ilyich free.

"'So that's it!' he said suddenly, out loud. 'Oh, bliss!'"

As humans, it feels like we cannot help but follow the everyday flow of societal norms, just like Ivan Ilyich. Ivan Ilyich's final realization was that all this suffering and agony didn't originate from a single moment, but was in fact the culmination of a life devoid of love and affection, a life so focused on materialistic and societal formalities that he failed to grasp the most important aspects of actually being alive. A life such as his was full of bodily pleasures and material happiness, which left his heart and soul totally empty and unfulfilled.


After the Ball: 3/5

"If it was done with such assurance and everyone thought it was necessary, then they must have known something I didn't."

In what is the shortest of these seven stories, Tolstoy raises the question of whether or not our lives are affected by environmental or outer circumstances. This 'appeal to authority' is something that we humans tend to do unconsciously, which ends up playing a major role in how we view certain situations. In After the Ball, the main character witnesses a procession of soldiers whipping and parading around a deserter; this, in turn, leaves our storyteller in a confused state. On the one hand, he is witnessing this gruesome and violent punishment being carried out, obviously overwhelmed by a feeling of sympathy; but on the other, the soldiers carry out this punishment with such assurance and confidence that he is almost persuaded that this may actually be the right thing to do. This ultimately leads our storyteller into a paralysis of conflicting views, effectively derailing his once progressive life into a state of stagnation and meaninglessness, ultimately costing him his relationship.

Tolstoy evokes the ultimate question in the reader of whether or not we really can 'think freely', and just how powerful an effect outside circumstances can have on us without our knowing.


The Forged Coupon: 5/5

"On the journey Stepan looked after Smokovnikov as if he were his own child, and told him his whole story, and all the whys and wherefores of his present existence. And it was a strange thing. Mitya Smokovnikov, who until that time had lived only in order to eat, drink, play cards and chase women, now thought about life for the very first time."

Out of these seven short stories, this one is the clear winner for me. The Forged Coupon is a deeply layered and complex short story comprising a multitude of lives, all traceable back to a single action: a forged coupon. Tolstoy begins the narrative at the singularity, which we will then see explode in every direction, directly affecting the lives of characters in ways unthinkable. Now, obviously these characters are committing these actions on their own, but it's the forged coupon that, whether directly as we see with Ivan Mironov, or indirectly as we see with Stepan, drastically changes the course of their lives.

The story is divided into two distinct parts. The first part follows an incredible chain reaction of horrible and gruesome events all stemming from that one act of deceit, leading to the deaths and imprisonment of countless characters. It is in this first part that we witness Stepan's infamous murder spree, where he goes about uprooting entire families without a sliver of mercy or remorse. In the second part, we witness an equally incredible chain reaction of justice and good; a wave of remorse and human compassion touching and altering the lives of all those once evil and cruel. Tolstoy is a master storyteller, through these characters he elicits a wave of conflicting ideas in the reader. And, though it seems to be left up to reader to decide, Tolstoy's stark reflection of good and evil via the two parts of this story serve as his own conclusion. The conclusion that the only thing capable of repairing all the flood of evil in this world is its direct opposite: a flood of compassion and forgiveness.

The second part of this story mainly follows the life of Stepan, who, after turning himself in for his crimes on account of a bad conscience, is converted to the ways of God by a fellow prisoner. Stepan's soul goes through a full and complete transformation, he sees the error of his ways and, though he accepts and is aware of his punishment awaiting him, nevertheless goes about the rest of his life with pure humility and kindness. It is through Stepan that the reader is hit with this plethora of different thoughts and contradictions; raising the question of whether or not it can be morally justifiable to wish death upon another human being because of his past actions.

"And the soul of this girl, which she had just revealed to him, had opened to him a revelation of his own soul. He had seen how far he was from what he wanted to be and from what his heart was drawing him towards."

[Belle Rivera · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know if I count this as a read, I have this version and only read Ivan Ilyich. I read this for oncology class. Which is CRAZY.
Honestly I just couldn’t wait for him to die.
Do I have empathy for fictional characters? Sometimes. When they earn it.
Nothing about his life was enough to make me empathize, his pain, I don’t care, I didn’t feel engaged at all.
This is what reading books is all about though, learning your taste, this isn’t mine.

[Tor Kinsarvik · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the kind of story that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

[Reuben Esterhuizen · Rating 3 out of 5]

most of these stories were quite mid imo apart from ‘the death of ivan ilyich’, which was great and devastating actually. got the sense that beckett’s work lives in the last chapter of that story. ‘the forged coupon’ was also good. the others were disappointing.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading Tolstoy and I quite enjoyed. Tolstoy is funny which is something i didnt expect?? Death of Ivan Ilyich is depressing as hell, and I also really enjoyed the forged coupon and how it meandered and showed the lives of so many people who were impacted by one small forged coupon. My friend got it for me because she read that its similar to stoner but i disagree??? Stoner is very life affirming about celebrating every moment of existence in spite of death vs this is very death affirming and is an examination of how to die and how can life have meaning if we do all day

Mayhaps one day i will attempt anna karenina

“All his life the syllogism he had learned from Kiesewetter's logic - Julius Caesar is a man, men are mortal, therefore Caesar is mortal - had always seemed to him to be true only when it applied to Caesar, certainly not to him.” (193)

“There was no fear whatsoever, because there was no death. Instead of death there was light.” (217)

“To begin with, the dull feeling of anguish which he experienced in his semi-conscious state gave him a sense of relief simply by being something new, but then it became just as agonizing as the raw pain, perhaps more so” (196)

“Ivan Ilyich is left there alone with the knowledge that his life has been poisoned and is poisoning other people's lives, and the poison is not wearing off, it is working its way deeper and deeper into his very being.” (188)

“The past history of Ivan Ilyich's life had been straightforward, ordinary and dreadful in the extreme.” (166)

[Jake Kinsella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously everyone loves "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", but I think "The Forged Coupon" stands above the rest in this collection. It's a kaleidoscopic snapshot of Russian life in the 19th century showing how cast of complete strangers unalterably impact each other's life without their knowing.

[ana]

did not finish could not finish will not finish major L

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5
That was dragged out unnecessarily. I think my patience died along with Ivan because what was that. Too long, too many details, and really depressing??

[Isabelle Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tolstoy's stories always seem so boring until the very end and then he hits you with the most thought-provoking conclusion out of nowhere.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

The raid - 3.5
The woodfelling - 4
Three Deaths - 3
Polikushka - 4
Death of Ivan ilyich - 5
After the ball - 3
The forged coupon - 5

[Ben Helzner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The three stars is an average. Some of the short stories I did not find anything special, but The Death Of Ivan Ilyich is worth it by itself and The Forged Coupon is also great.

[Incura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Read before making life desicions

[Stavros Cardasis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many believe you die and the grass grows over you, but this is not true

[k · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Man dies in his own way, the nobleman with vanity, the woman with sentiment, and the tree—calmly, without a word.”

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

DONT READ THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH

[Robert Patchett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most collections of short stories there are a few quite forgettable. But there are also some gems. Of course The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the most famous and rightly so. But I also enjoyed Three Death and The Forged Coupon. The latter of which is a butterfly effect themed, quite enjoyable. I find Tolstoy easier to read than Dostoyevsky or Checkov, but perhaps that’s down to the translation.

[Stacia Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought-provoking anthology of short stories that show the frailty of human life and our never-ending search for meaning and purpose in a world that is unjust and seemingly senseless.