lightning strikes twice

by Leo Tolstoy, 1886

This is a concise examination of a man in his final weeks — how he approaches the previously unexamined subject of death, his evaluation of his relationships, and his views on how he has lived his life.  Tolstoy wastes nothing in this writing, it is full and fantastic, but yet also pared back and sparse.  And for the reader, it is thought provoking.  On finishing everyone will want to examine their own motivations — it seems that while Tolstoy was attempting to exorcise his own issues with death, he was instructing his readers to do the same, lest they find themselves on their deathbed with the same regreats as Ivan Ilyich.

A poignant story, masterfully told.  War & Peace and Anna Karenina await!