The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Leo Tolstoy · 1828–1910 · Russia

Originally Smert Ivana Ilyicha (Russian)

Why it matters

A judge who lived correctly discovers, dying, that he never lived at all. Eighty pages that outweigh most shelves: the essential story about mortality, and late Tolstoy's art at its most merciless and merciful.

At a glance

Short and lucid, though its relentless focus on dying demands sustained attention.