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Best known for his epics, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy's novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich packs more of a punch than those two great tomes combined.

Set in Russia in the late 19th century, protagonist Ilyich thinks he has it all, as a successful judge, with a suitable wife, socially acceptable friends and a modern apartment. That is until he falls ill. As Ilyich's condition worsens, he realises that the life he built for himself is as flimsy as the chintz that adorns the walls and furniture of his house. As his end draws near, it becomes clear to Ilyich that all the things he has done for the supposedly right reasons - marriage, friendships and even playing whist - were in fact all for the approval of high society. The hollow feeling this brings only serves to exacerbate the pain of his final days, as his demise becomes an embarrassment to his family and opportunity for his colleagues.

As pertinent now (if not more so) than when it was written, Tolstoy forces us to ask questions about the lives we lead, using the almost humorous decline of one man who seemingly had achieved a lot, but had in fact achieved nothing.

Interest in this book has seen a resurgence following Alain De Botton's use of it in his in his pop-philosophy work Status Anxiety, and as such has been included in Penguin Books' Red Classic collection.

The Penguin Red Classic series reminds us that without works such as these, there would be no foundation for the likes of Stephen King, Irvin Welsh or Zadie Smith to build on. To find out more go to www.penguinclassics.com/reds

Simon Farnham

Available online

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Leo Tolstoy

pp: 106

Penguin Red Classics

ISBN: 0-141-02360-0

(China Daily 03/17/2006 page12)