January: Mortality 📖
Book Club: Month 1
This is my review of the first month of readings for my book club. I originally intended to only read one story from each author, but I enjoyed all the stories so much that I ended up reading additional stories from each author. My first few posts will have differing layouts as I figure out what writing style works for me.
What was read
Book Club Reads: The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Leo Tolstoy) & The Dead (James Joyce)
Bonus Reads: The Two Old Men (Tolstoy) & Eveline (Joyce)
Spoilers ahead, and I would greatly encourage reading these stories on your own before scrolling further. The bonus reads are significantly shorter while still presenting similar themes to the book club read.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
“Maybe I did not live as I ought to have done?” it suddenly occurred to him. “But how could that be, when I did everything properly?”
The Story
Ivan Ilyich is a very successful judge in his time. He had a high-paying job, a parent-approved wife, and the right social circle for a judge. However, while hanging curtains, Ivan fell and absurdly received a mysterious terminal injury, which forced him out of his meticulous routine. As he approaches his end, he starts to question his life and if he made the “right” decisions.
Ivan lived as if life were a perpetual social performance. Almost as if he never grew out of the “high school” mindset. He was always trying to do what he thought “they” would approve of. This vague social standard of what a “successful” man should look like led to a hollow and unfulfilling existence. Even as he dies, his “friends” did not seem to care that much about him personally, only about his job opening. While Ivan was not a hero by any means, I still found myself feeling for him throughout the story.
Analysis & Questions
Tolstoy’s style was eloquent from the start; I immediately felt for Ivan as I read about his “friends” at the funeral. The story was written in a way that felt raw and unfiltered. It forced me to reflect on what an “authentic life” looks like. It brought up two questions:
What is the right way to live?
Is a lifetime of “wrong” redeemable with a last-second authentic moment?
Reflecting on your own choices through Ivan’s eyes is an uneasy feeling. My personal philosophy has generally been to aim for more “net positives” than negatives on the karma scale. And since I’d want to be forgiven for my own errors in judgment, I found myself willing to forgive Ivan as well.
The Verdict: 5/5 will read again
This was a great story that invoked introspection. It was very easy to read and follow, but the question of “What if my whole life has really been wrong?” is one that I keep coming back to, even months after I finished the story.
I’m not giving a detailed review of The Two Old Men, but I highly recommend reading it. This is a shorter story that poses similar questions but from a different perspective.
The Dead
Generous tears filled Gabriel’s eyes. He had never felt like that himself towards any woman, but he knew that such a feeling must be love.
The Story
Gabriel Conroy, a well-respected academic, attends an annual Christmas party in Dublin with his wife, Gretta. Much of this atmospheric story follows the social anxieties of the evening; Gabriel worrying over his speech and how others perceive him. However, the night takes a haunting turn when they return to their hotel, and Gretta hears a song that reminds her of her first love, a boy who died for her. This revelation shatters Gabriel’s ego, forcing him to realize how little he truly knows about his wife’s inner life, or his own.
Analysis & Questions
Joyce’s style immediately immerses you in the environment. Where I felt for Ivan Ilyich, I felt with Gabriel. I am still shocked by his realization at the end, and I find myself frequently coming back to two of the questions Joyce’s story poses:
Is living a “safe” life actually a form of being “dead” while alive?
How well can we ever truly know the people we love?
These questions from Gabriel’s life bring a different kind of unease than Ivan’s life did. Ivan realized he lived for the wrong things, but Gabriel never actually lived. His wife once experienced a love so intense it was “to die for”. Gabriel realizes he has never felt anything remotely close to that intensity, leading him to question if he has truly ever been “alive.”
The Verdict: 5/5 will read again
This is a haunting piece of literature that stays with you. It is deeply atmospheric and emotional, albeit slow to start. Reflecting on these stories has had a direct impact on my own life audit, pushing me to be more of the protagonist in my own story rather than just an observer.
As with Eveline, I’m not giving a detailed review, but I still highly recommend reading it. It is a very short story that does the same as The Two Old Men.
Conclusion
I gave a brief overview of each of the main stories, but all are worth reading in their entirety. This month was focused on mortality and what it means to be “alive”. All reads were very easy, and this was the shortest month of the book club. What resonated with you most, and do you have a different take from either story?
Thank you for making it this far and giving me your time. This is a part of my book series. I am catching up on them right now, but I intend to do these once a month for the book club. If you are interested in more from me, I also have a thinking lately series.