Martha Erskine’s Reviews > The Death of Ivan Ilyich & Other Stories > Status Update
Martha Erskine
is starting
I’ve now read the following stories:
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Alyosha the Pot
The Diary of a Madman
I picked the latter two simply because they are short. But inadvertently I have picked stories which all question life, the purpose of life, death, the fear of death. Another theme is class differences and people living as they feel they “should” and others “waking up” to the “madness” of life.
— 18 hours, 32 min ago
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Alyosha the Pot
The Diary of a Madman
I picked the latter two simply because they are short. But inadvertently I have picked stories which all question life, the purpose of life, death, the fear of death. Another theme is class differences and people living as they feel they “should” and others “waking up” to the “madness” of life.
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Martha’s Previous Updates
Martha Erskine
is starting
He seems like so many of us — driven by notions of “success” without any sense of personal meaning. He’s sick now and clearly stress and misery is, if not the cause, a manifestation of his dis-eased life.
— Nov 06, 2025 05:07AM
Martha Erskine
is starting
I’m starting with the titular story. It’s good (not my favorite writing style, but that’s ok). What stands out so far is the devotion that Ivan Ilyich has for living his life by norms of respectability and outward signs of “success.” But he seems unhappy with relationships and even the trappings he acquires. He works a lot and seems to enjoy doing so, but that’s that he thinks he’s to do.
— Nov 06, 2025 05:06AM
