The Death of Ivan Ilyich

A Leo Tolstoy Short Story

By: Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by: Bill DeWees

Length: 2 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

The brilliance of this story is in how a normal bureaucrat, a judge in this case, has a small accident that winds up gradually taking his life. As he deals with this incident, with hope at first and then despair, he comes to terms with his family, his life, and the mediocrities that we all suffer with, except for the exceptional few. This story rings a particularly poignant note for those in early middle age facing the next part of their lives. This story is considered Tolstoy's best.

Public Domain (P)2011 Christina Brown

Made Me Think and Sometimes Shutter

I've listened to the “Death of Ivan Illyich” several times and every listen gives me a new prospective in the process of dying and death. Not just the dying of an individual, but the accurate feelings, needs and self protecting aspects of those around the dying. It’s marvelous how Leo Tolstoy taps into the truth of the human heart.

A masterpiece

Leo Tolstoy is one of the greatest writers of all times ... this book is very unique ... through a smiple but incridably well written story all the questions of life, death, right and wrong are raised and challanged...

Must read/ listen

Everyone alive will, at some point, ponder death.
This prepares you for that discussion with yourself!

The narrator almost makes listening impossible...

Would you try another book from Leo Tolstoy and/or Bill DeWees?

The only saving grace for this Audio book is the story itself. Bill DeWees is awful and lifeless. For a period of time I thought it was a computer generated voice and then realized it was a person. I struggled to listen to this lifeless narration.

I spent five minutes motionless after it finished.

Everyone should read this book at least once in their lifetime. I just hope I don't feel the same way when I go.

Excellent Tolstoy. Poor narration.

This is an excellent collection of Tolstoy's stories. The narration leaves much to be desired.

Distracting narrator

What did you like best about this story?

The insights into characters' thoughts and feelings behind the events.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bill DeWees’s performances?

No. He read mechanically, like a kid in a highschool drama performance, but with no teacher to correct his pronunciation. Laughably bad French and embarrassing English.

Embracing death

The story of the decent from vitality to denial to acceptance to embracing the finality of death. A short read but very moving look at one man's fight against the mortal coil. Another great book by Tolstoy.

The Egotist Looks At A Mirror

What did you like best about The Death of Ivan Ilyich? What did you like least?

Ironically, the answer to both questions is Ivan's conversion at the end of his life. The humanity of facing ones death is an inevitability for all and our vision of Ivan is a window into that psychology. For 99.99%+ of the population, we can only truly understand the death experience when we die. I only give nominal deference to those who have "experienced" being brain dead but have been revived. Even still, they did not die completely. Tolstoy's attempt is ambitious but it rings plausible enough for a honest rendering of my own end (several decades from now, I hope). What most disappointed me was the ending which described a conversion that was anything besides a factual existence. Ivan began his long path of terminal diagnosis in a state of disbelief. How could he be dying since he lived so well? But in the end, his pain goes away only when he accepted that he lived selfishly. This realization perpetuates the mythology that our sufferings are directly proportional to our "goodness". At one point, all the people around Ivan, including the doctors, accept the inevitable because Ivan's ailments are beyond their reach and understanding - why cannot man accept that the world in all of its glory and good things is made for their sole benefit? This ego-centrism is frustrating to witness first hand but perhaps can be somewhat forgiven as this was written in the 1886 when religion was still a principle source of scientific knowledge.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

See question above.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Bill DeWees?

I'm keeping my 2-star rating but it's probably unfair. I DID feel the performance was a bit mechanical but so was the writing. Still, I can not offer an alternate narrator.

Do you think The Death of Ivan Ilyich needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, this book is not open ended and nor should it be. This book is intended to efface self-reflection regarding death and I think it's sufficiently accomplished.

Answer: Die and pay taxes.

Where does The Death of Ivan Ilyich rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The best.

What did you like best about this story?

This short story is a great wake-up call to all of us who are preparing to retire instead of preparing to die. I want to be ready when my time comes. Ivan Illyich gives me a glimpse of what it might look like to approach the reality of my mortality without a clue. I've listened to this book many times already and hear something insightfully new each time I re-listen.

What about Bill DeWees’s performance did you like?

Clear. Intelligible. Engaging. He sounds like he could be one of the charcters in this story.

If you could take any character from The Death of Ivan Ilyich out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Gerasim. While I know much about Ivan because he's the main character, I'd like to know more about this kind, guileless young man.