Tolstoy: The Death of Ivan Ilyich & Master and Man

I have always loved Ivan Ilyich, but Mr. Vance's narration actually moved me to tears.

This narration was one of the best I have ever heard. I am going to now look up what other books he has narrated and get them because of Simon Vance. Really incredible job. Five starts for him. Four stars for the book because it was a little depressing.

I guess it should come as no surprise that Tolstoy is awesome? Both these stories are amazing and moving and human and wow. First thing I've even read/listened of Tolstoy, I think I need to check out some more.

Both stories, but particularly The Death of Ivan Illyich, are amazingly fresh and relevant. Simon Vance brings the characters to life.

This book has an important message. It is commonly read in high school, but I am happy that I waited until 52 years. I understand the meaning behind the book better than a teenager would because I have witnessed death, watched how others lived their lives, and thus, understand a bit more about the overall message.

Superb understanding of the human mind.

Of course, Anna Karenina is the masterpiece. Tolstoy understands how people think and why thay act as they do.

Ivan

My attention was rivited on the audio and I felt compelled just to sit and listen to the naration was completed.

Human Character Revealed

I would read anything written by Leo Tolstoy!

Articulate and Well Spoken

A feeling of understanding - Tolstoy's statement is not always complimentary to his protagonist moral judgement.

Be the one who rises above in all situations!

These two short books are the type of thing they'd assign to you in a literature class and then ask you to write an essay about something like "the meaning of life according to Ivan Ilyich" or ask you on an exam "did the protagonists learn to value life only when they were about to die?" The Death of Ivan Ilyich is exactly about that. We hear about his unexciting and uninspiring life, and what he wants out of it all along, and how it turns out and how he dies, and his thoughts while he is sick and in decline. The part that resonated with me the most is the description of the awkwardness of paying condolences to someone - this indeed was a good description. The "moral" of the story, apparently having to do with what should be the most important values in your life, is quite cliche. The second story, takes some time to set up the death of Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov, a land-owner, but it is his stubbornness and greed that puts him and his worker in danger, and, again, at his very end, he realizes that his wealth is not the most important thing in his life. It seems a bit late, though, since he leaves a widow and orphan, and Nikita, whom he saves as it turns out, has a pretty dreary depressing life, anyway, and would have accepted death without too much upset. The first story is drearier, because you have to listen to Ivan's physical complaints about his illness. I did not particularly enjoy these stories - they are pretty depressing, without much more than that to them. Simon Vance, however, is superb, as always, and I hope to listen to him in a more engaging book.