The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy 9/10

Described by the back of the book as "an intense and moving examination of death and the possibilities of redemption." It is certainly those things, though I found the redemption part a little less compelling, while the ruminations of the possibilities of redemption struck me as deeply moving. My favorite parts of the story, however, were passages where Tolstoy seems to capture these complex social interactions or thoughts or exchanges that on the one hand seem so particular and intricate and yet on the other perfectly renders them suggesting their universal commonality - the bureaucratic way authorities obfuscate human questions, the justifications we make for our irritability, the subtle methods by which we change and conform to our social circles, to name just a few. And then, of course, there is the poetry. Sentences that even if translated strike one with beauty and power.

Hadji Murat by Tolstoy 9/10

In some ways its strange that this story is written by the same author as The Death of Ivan Ilyich. It lacks the dark philosophical inclination of the latter. But similarly, it is an examination of what makes a worthy life and simultaneously a deconstruction of the pomp and circumstance of russian society. The defining difference though is that Hadji Murat is more an adventure story. If not for the challenging Chechen terminology, it might be something read to an adolescent, like a self-aware western that both romanticizes a simple and violent life in the mountains as valiant and pure, while also undermining that glorification by examining its violence, motivations, and effectiveness with an uncompromising realism.

Brilliant, I wasn't expecting to cry reading this! Only issue is there were quite a few modern sounding phrases that seemed out of place in the translation.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich: Fight Club without the violence or snarky rants.

Our protagonist discovers how differently people treat you if they think you are dying. He realizes the meaninglessness of modern materialistic culture, of seeking status and money. But instead of starting a secret boxing cult, he just *SPOILERS* dies.

Confession: Tolstoy has a mid-life crisis.

The author, at the peak of his life, has everything that he could ask for: a loving family, wealth, respect, fame, health. He takes the advice of Ozymandias, looks upon his works, and despairs.
"Why? Well, and then what?"
Realizing everything he has done will eventually be gone and forgotten, that he and everyone he knows will be dead, wonders what the point of all of it is and why he should bother continue going on with it.
Science and philosophy fail to provide him any satisfying answers. He notices that the uneducated working class don't seem bothered by questions of existential nihilism and tries the opiate of the masses. His attempt to get right with Jesus is hindered by his disgust with the hippocrocy of the church.
Then he has a weird dream.

Thanks for nothing Tolstoy!

Ci sono due verità: la prima è che credo di preferire il Tolstoj dei romanzoni; la seconda è che può darsi che siano proprio le storie che ti toccano più da vicino a essere quelle da cui vuoi prendere le distanze.
Questa raccolta contiene i due racconti del titolo e una serie di inediti con la traduzione di Landolfi come filo conduttore. La morte di Ivan Il'ič gioca sull'ingiustizia della malattia, su come colpisca chiunque, senza considerare il bene o il male che ha fatto. Discorso sulle pubblicazioni popolari è interessante e attuale. Degli altri inediti per me l'unico memorabile è Paleček il giullare, nonostante l'onnipresente morale cristiana e la traduzione sempre più contorta.

Quirky and witty, though a bit moralizing for my liking - I guess the shorter format gives itself to proverbial, aphoristic writing more than the 900 pages of Anna Karenina, e.g.