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The Death of Ivan Ilyich

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The Death of Ivan Ilyich

By: Leo Tolstoy
Narrated by: Oliver Ford Davies
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The subject of this well-known Tolstoy novella is a high court judge in St. Petersburg who lives a carefree life. One day, without warning, he is beset by pains and soon has to come to terms with the fact that he is going to die. The judge has to learn to face death without fear and yet feel compassion for the family he is leaving behind.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2008 Naxos Rights International (P)2008 Naxos Rights International Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological

Editorial reviews

Tolstoy's novella offers a penetrating examination of the Christian faith and the nature of life and death. Listeners will also be sure to delight in Tolstoy's sharp and sometimes satirical eye for the very modern-sounding details of the life of a nineteenth-century Russian bureaucrat. With masterful ease, a warm tone, and conversational pacing, British actor Oliver Davies captures Ivan Ilyich's preoccupation with interior decorating and debt and his avoidance of family weddings and home remedies. Then the shadow of death wipes away all trivialities and pretense. This work's prose and performance are so vivid, so human, and so listenable that there's no doubt why Tolstoy stands as one of the giants of world literature.

Critic reviews

"Davies' skill with inflection, even within words, heightens the social satire of the early section and shifts with Ilyich's slide into ever increasing pain and irritability." ( Publishers Weekly)

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The reader was excellent. It helped to get through the heaviness of the text. Recommended reading.

Excellent voice

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I don't like to read but this book I was actually able to finish. Audible made it more interesting with the narration and expressions in each characters voice.

The story about living, why we live? Are we living for the right reasons? What are the stages of death? It seems so painful after reading this. I'm so afraid of dying!

Interesting and kept me curious

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Leo Tolstoy writes beautiful stories that explain his concerns about what society believes to be important.

This narrator brought the tale out of the pages of a book and gave a compelling voice to this story. Exceptional!

I will listen again.

A beautiful tale.

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so sad. we don't see how we live our lives until the end. the reader is the best

great

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The reader captures the humor and irony of the suffocating social norms that defeat and eventually enlighten Ivan. His voice has lots of twists and turns. The musical interludes were lovely too. A great audiobook.

Masterly reading

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This book is an incredible story dealing with life and death. It really shines light on the matter of death. Tolstoy's writing is truly a piece of art and the narration is on point with the tone of the writing. Would listen to again!

Amazing

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